Evolution of a Whisper
by Lady of the Shards
Summary: Saphronia Maria Stone is only eight years old when she recieves her first two pokemon that will help her on her journey to becoming a successful breeder like her parents and brother. What trouble will this girl get in with multiple Eevees at her side? Read to find out. (Note: First story! Please give your honest opinion. Rated T just in case.)
1. Prologue Receiving the Eggs

Evolution of a Whisper

"Sophie!"

_What could Mommy want?_

"Saphronia Maria Stone!"

_Daddy's using my full name! Am I in trouble?_

"I'm coming! I was up the pine tree!"

I dash inside, expecting to find my daddy furious. Instead I find him and my mommy waiting at the table in the kitchen. On the table are two eggs.

"I told you she would come quicker if we used her full name." Daddy told Mommy.

"So…I'm not in trouble for something?"

"Do you need to be?" Mommy asked with a raised brow.

I quickly shake my head. My eyes drift from my parents' faces to the beautiful eggs on the table. My parents are the top two breeders in the Unova region. The Pokémon they breed are incredible! Each of the Elite Four has at least one Pokémon that my parents bred! So do most of the gym leaders and the current and previous champions as well! When I get older, I want to be an awesome breeder like them!

_Hello?_

"What was that?" I ask, surprised by the strange voice.

"What was what, sweetie?" Daddy has a confused look on his face.

"Umm…nothing. Why did you call me in?"

"Well sweetie, we wanted to ask you something." Mommy started. "What do you want to be when you get older?"

"A Breeder."

"You realize that it is going to be a lot of work right?"

"No more work than being a Pokémon trainer would! Besides, I've been watching you and Daddy my whole life! I know that this is what I want to do! I may only be eight years old, but I know that I want to spend my life taking care of Pokémon and Pokémon eggs like these two here!" As I talk I climb on a chair so that when I finish I can reach the eggs and place one of my hands on each egg.

_Warm._

_Gentle._

*Gasp* "Did you hear that? There were two voices just now!"

"Where do these voices seem to be coming from sweetie?" My daddy just went from proud and happy to confused and concerned in record time.

_Hi. Are you going to stay? You are warm._

"Um, they seem to be coming from…the eggs?"

"Oh." Both of my parents gasp. My mommy looks at me with a thoughtful look on her lovely face. My daddy falls into a thoughtful silence as my mommy continues. "Sweetie, what do they sound like?"

"One's a boy and one's a girl. Why? Can't you hear them?"

"No, sweetie, I think you have a special gift. We were planning on this anyways, but now I am certain. Sweetie, to be a breeder you have to at least have two Pokémon. We thought about it and decided to give you these two. We are starting you with eggs because it will help you understand the Pokémon better. We got lucky that you will have one of each gender. Will you take care of these two?"

My mouth is open in surprise by the time she finishes speaking. I have to gather myself a bit before I can respond. "You mean, these two beautiful eggs are for me?"

"Yes."

I lunge across the table to hug my parents. Then I gently cradle the eggs to me in another hug. "Thank you thank you thank you!" It's all I can manage to say.

Two weeks of gentle care and constant contact later, the eggs start to hatch simultaneously. Two little Eevees are soon staring up at me. The male looked similar to all other Eevees I had seen. While I had talked to them while they were in the eggs I had decided to name him Avon, no matter what type of Pokémon he was. The female however was a different color. Worried that she might be sick I quickly took them both to Daddy for him to check.

"What is it sweetie?" He asked when I entered his nursery for the Pokémon he planned to keep. When he looked at he saw my newly hatched Eevees and my worried look. Then he noticed the females coloring. "Incredible. To have one of your first Pokémon be a shiny one…" he trailed off.

"Shiny? Does that mean she's sick?" I asked starting to panic now.

"Oh, no, no, no sweetie! She's just fine! A shiny Pokémon is just one with coloring that is different. Have you decided on their names?"

"The male's name is Avon! The female's name is… Dusklace. Are you positive that they are okay?"

"Here, hand them here and I will give them a look over. Yep, they are perfectly healthy." He put them down on the ground and they quickly scampered back over to me. "They seem so happy and attached to already. Sweetie, I was wondering if you would like to try to talk with some other Pokémon eggs?"

I start wiggling in excitement at the chance to talk to more Pokémon while they were still in their eggs. Five minutes later, however, had Daddy utterly confused and I very disappointed. I hadn't been able to hear any of the Pokémon.

_Mommy? What's wrong Mommy?_

_Why are you sad?_

I gasp in shack at hearing the two voices. "Avon, Dusklace?"

_Yes? _They both ask at the same time.

"Sweetie, can you still understand these two?" Daddy asks, looking down at my two Eevees.

"Yup!" Is all I can say before I scoop the two of them up and cuddle them in relief. I could still understand my baby Pokémon! "But… why couldn't I understand any of the others?" Confusion returns to both Daddy's and mine expressions.

"Why don't you try talking to this one?" Mommy (my Mommy) suggested as she entered the room with another egg. I quickly put down Avon and Dusklace before Mommy hands the egg to me.

_I'm cold._

"Mommy! The little Pokémon is cold!" I look around frantically while I try to warm it up in my arms. Daddy quickly hands me a blanket to wrap it in. Then it hits me. I was able to understand it—no it was a girl—I was able to understand her!

Mommy smiles "I have one more little test to conduct before I can be sure but I think I know what your ability is." She reaches into her belt pouch and brings out a poke ball. "Come on out Flareon!" She calls as she releases the fire Pokémon. I had seen him before but he was usually busy helping keep the eggs cozy with his warmth.

_That egg's temperature is low! I need to warm it but little Sophie holding it! What if I accidently hurt her? _I hear as I watch Flareon shift his feet nervously as he stares at the egg in my arms.

"Here, Flare, now you don't have to worry about burning me." I tell him, using his nickname, as I gently place the egg on one of the many cushions in the nursery. Surprise is written across his expressive little face as he quickly settles around the egg to warm it, her. "Mommy this egg is female and I can understand Flare!"

_Can you truly hear me, little one? _Flare asked me.

_Mommy I want to be cuddled! _Avon pleaded.

_Me too, me too!_ Dusklace agreed.

"Yep, I can talk to you Flare!" I say excitedly as I scoop up my little ones. "Mommy, do you know what my ability is now?"

"Oh, yes I do sweetie. You can understand any Eevee. That egg is from the same parents as your female—"

"Dusklace!"

"Dusklace. So they're sisters, if you're sure that the egg is female."

"She's a girl. Um… what about Avon?"

"What about him?"

"What about his parents?"

My parents share a glance. I wait patiently while they talk silently with their eyes. They often talk like this when they aren't sure they want me to know something. I think they are teaching my big brother how to talk like that too, so maybe one day they'll teach me!

"… Well we found Avon on the doorstep with a note telling us that he was an Eevee." My daddy finally tells me.

"So that makes me his mommy right?"

"Yes sweetie."

"Good, cause he's been calling me that since he hatched! What about you Dusklace?"

_Not my mommy but very important. I love you! _The little, shiny, Eevee replied.

_I love you too! But you are definitely my mommy!_ Avon piped up, the both of them sounding very happy. I put them down so that they could run around, though they stayed close and were careful around the eggs especially when Flare gave them a warning. Dusklace was very interested in the egg that contained her sister.

Suddenly the little egg began to hatch! When the littlest Eevee I had ever seen was finally out, she raced over to me, to everyone's surprise.

_Hi! Will you give me a name? I want to stay with you! _The newborn yipped at a rapid rate.

"Mommy, Daddy she wants to stay with me and have me name her. Can I?" I pleaded with them with my eyes. A name for the tiny one had already popped into my head.

"Do you think you could handle three Pokémon at once?" My parents asked me in all seriousness.

"Yes. I think I can." I told them equally serious. They smiled and nodded at me. I gently scooped up the newborn Eevee. "Well then, Dawnlace, looks like you get to stay with me too!" All three of my Eevees yipped in excitement, making sounds but not words.

_Oh my, it is going to be rather loud around here for awhile. _Flare sighed as he looked at the energetic little Eevees already playing around his feet. I giggled at how put upon he sounded as I translated what he said to my parents who also smiled.

**Author's Notes: This is my first story published. It is going to be slow going. I have lent this OC to xXCelibiXx for a story. I wanted to write her origin story, so this is it. I have no clue where this is going but I hope it is not completely awful. Please review; I have no clue what I am doing.**


	2. Chapter 1 Birthday

**Chapter 2:**

It's my tenth birthday! My parents got me a new outfit and a special belt for presents. The outfit consists of a shirt, shorts, a hat and shoes. The shirt is a light purple tank top, to accent my amethyst eyes, with a cute little Eevee detailing right over where my heart is. The shorts are durable denim that cover my knees and are loose and comfortable with extra pockets on the side. (My big brother described them as cargo shorts.) The shoes are sturdy brown hiking boots that will hold up under a lot of stress, but are also comfortable enough not to cause blisters. The hat is a news boy cap the same light denim as my shorts and will help keep short black locks of hair from blowing into my eyes. The hat also has a little Pokémon egg pin that could be switched for another if I found one I preferred. I don't think I could ever find a pin better than that one.

My favorite present, though, was the special belt. My parents had had it custom made for me. It has spots for ten poke balls and also two pouches where I can carry eggs in and not worry about them getting cold. When I asked my parents why there were so many spots for balls, they explained.

"A breeder can carry more than six Pokémon with him or her. However when in battle, they will never, I repeat, never use more than six because that would be unfair for others. You want to have one of each Eevee before you began officially breeding, correct?" At my nod they continued, "Then you will have eight main Pokémon. The extra two slots are for any Pokémon you want to train some before you give them to their new trainer. You understand everything?"

I let what they said sink in for a few moments before I nod and smile over my gifts. Then it is my brother's turn to give me my birthday gift. As I open up the small package I see a brand new communication device. Then it hits me. These gifts are all those things I will need when I set out on my Pokémon journey. I look at my family with huge eyes.

My brother smiles, knowing I finally understood what was going on. "We already stocked and packed your bag for the journey." He came over and gave me a big hug. "Happy birthday, little Sophie." My parents echo his words as they give me hugs of their own.

Then Mommy pulls back and gives me a look. "You aren't leaving till tomorrow though."

I smile happy to be able to spend my birthday with my family and Pokémon.

Later when I put my presents in my room, I find my Eevees clustered around something. Before I see what they are up too, I admire how they've grown in the two years that I've had them. Avon has grown but has stayed the same thanks to the everstone that my brother helped me attach to his green collar, a green that matched his eyes. Dusklace has evolved into a Shiny Umbreon. I had given her a collar of lace the shade of the dusk sky. Dawnlace was still as tiny as when she hatched but she had evolved into an elegant Espeon. The lightest pink lace was what I had made Dawn's collar out of.

After marveling at how much they had changed, I went over to investigate what they were doing.

_Mommy! It's your birthday right? _Avon spins towards me before I even get a step closer.

"Yep! What are you three up to? I haven't seen you guys since I got up this morning."

_We went out to get you something! I really hope you like them! _Dawn jumped around in a small circle, clearly full of excitement over their presents for me.

"Wait, you guys went out by yourselves? How far did you go?" Worry hung clearly on each of my words.

_We didn't go far and Big Brother Flare was with us the whole time so we didn't get into trouble. _ My sweet and steady Dusk quickly reassured me. _Now will you please come see what are gifts are?_

I giggle at their impatience as I come over to see what they found for me. Amongst a pile of small, vibrant purple flowers are three stones. One is a vivid red that seems to have flames moving in its heart, a Fire Stone. The second is such a startling yellow that it seems as if it would shock you if you touched it, a Lightning Stone. The third and final stone seemed to be a solidified pool of rain, a Water Stone. I look from the stones to the eager and slightly worried faces of my precious Pokémon. I smile with tears gathering in my eyes. My little babies had gone and found me the three stones that will help me get three of the other evolutions of Eevees. It was so sweet.

I gathered all three Eevees up in one of my gentle hugs. Dawn quickly wiggled free and assumed her usual position on my shoulder. I let the other two go and gather the purple flowers up so that I can put them in one of Mommy's vases. I gladly allowed my happiness to flow along the psychic link I had with my Eevees.

Once my little ones had fallen asleep I carefully packed my three stones in my bag, going over their reaction to the news that we were starting on journey in the morning. Dawn had started bouncing off the walls- two years hadn't calmed her down even a bit- Dusk had asked if she could take her favorite stuffed Pokémon- a little stuffed Mew- and Avon had just cocked his head at me and asked me if we were really going with just the four of us. Avon had been thinking of the few camping trips we had gone on with my brother. We had gone and camped out in the forest surrounding the ranch, but my big brother Tristan had been rather overprotective and battled all wild Pokémon we encountered himself. With my brother being fifteen years older than me and already left and returned from his own journey he had won each battle easily. We hadn't had an actual battle- be it with another trainer or a wild Pokémon- yet. All the experience we had gotten was from training with other Pokémon on the ranch. When Avon had asked his question, Dusk and Dawn had stopped and looked questioningly up at me. I had simply said 'Just the four of us.' After that they had all gotten even more excited and finally wore themselves to sleep.

As I too got ready to sleep I carefully formed pictures of my family in my head. My big brother Tristan had eyes that were more of a deep indigo than amethyst. He wore his black hair just above his ears in a spiky mess, about an inch shorter than mine. He stood around five foot nine and was still growing. His skin was a pale tan because our skin just couldn't darken very much, but it also couldn't burn. Even though he was twenty-five, he appeared to be around fifteen, a trait he and I both inherited from my mommy. (I may have just turned ten, but I appeared to be around five or six.) My mommy usually wore her silky violet black hair braided and twisted into a bun so not many realized that it nearly reached her knees. She is only five foot five, so my brother practically towered over her. Mommy was in her fifties, but she only appeared to be in her early thirties. With her pale lavender- almost silver- eyes you couldn't really tell where the darkness of Tristan and my eyes came from till you looked at my daddy. Daddy's eyes were a deep royal blue that seemed bottomless. At six foot five, Daddy was really tall but he could still be so gentle. Mommy called him her gentle giant. Daddy also look young for his age, appearing late thirties early forties while he was really in his fifties. He keeps his blue black hair short, not even long enough to get into his eyes. (Tristan's and my hair seemed to have indigo highlights, depending on the light.) While my mother was completely incapable of tanning, my father tanned easily and all his work with Pokémon left him with evenly tanned skin.

My daddy- Jeremiah Stone- my mommy- Chiaki Stone- and my brother Tristan Stone. My human family. All the Pokémon on the ranch were also part of my family. As I drifted off to sleep, I continued to form pictures of each of the Pokémon, preparing myself mentally for my journey that was going to begin in the morning.

**Author's Note: Hey, forgot to mention last chapter that I don't own Pokémon, just most of the characters that will appear in this story. If I don't own one I will mention it in these notes. Also there are a lot of descriptions in this chapter, but I wanted to make sure you could picture the characters. There were nearly zero descriptions of people in the first chapter. Also timeline. This is taking place in Unova before Pokémon Black and White and those events. Later I might have her go on another journey that would take place after Black and White 2. Not sure. If you have any questions, opinions, or see any mistakes (this is not beta'd) then please feel free to mention them in a review. But please review. I need to know that people think this is worth reading. As always, beware: I have no clue what I am doing.**


	3. Chapter 2 Saying Goodbye

**Chapter 3:**

_Nnngh…. I want more slee—eeep!_

_MOMMY! Get up! Get up! We're gonna start our journey today!_

I jolt up and Avon tumbles down from where he had been perched on my stomach. I sit there blinking for a few minutes as my mind finishes waking up. Quickly I get out of bed and get dressed, an impressive feat considering I had three very excited Eevees tumbling around my feet. After I finished getting dressed I dashed downstairs to find my parents sitting at the table—the same table that two years ago I met my first two Pokémon as eggs. Today on the table was breakfast and a few items.

"What are these?" I ask as I fill a plate with a healthy breakfast of fruit, yogurt, eggs, sausage, and milk.

Daddy smiles at me as I start to eat, not rushing but still going quickly. "These are a few items we wanted to explain to you. The first is the town map—Dear? Why is it called a town map and not a region map? It shows more than just a town—"

"Daddy! Can you stay on topic?" I prompt, giggling into my food at how easily my daddy can get distracted when the topic doesn't have to do with breeding.

Daddy blushes and continues, "Well, the town map will help you keep track of where you are and any interesting things you might want to visit. I encourage you to just check every corner you can get to. You never know what you will find. Next is a dowsing machine which will show you where hidden items are. Very handy. The last is something you will need during battles. These are max revives. If your Pokémon faints it will revive them at full health. Choose when to use these very carefully. They are extremely hard to find."

My eyes are wide as I look at the items while I finish my food. As I swallow the last bite I smile at my parents. Before I can say anything there is a crashing on the stairs. Avon, Dusklace, and Dawnlace stare in the direction of the sound. Along I feel amusement flowing off them through our link.

Tristan comes tumbling out of the stairwell glancing around until he sees me and relaxes.

"What did you think I would leave before you got up?" I grin at his bedhead and clothing that he obviously rushed to put on.

He just grins back. "I just want to spend as much time as I can with you before you leave."

"You aren't going to follow me right?" I turn to our parents, "You aren't going to let him follow me? I want to do this journey on my own."

My mommy's eyes dance, "We won't let him follow you. If he runs into you while on the job is another thing. We will require him to return home between jobs, since we're losing one of our important helpers. Four of them actually."

I grin again as I feel relief coming from Avon. He too was worried that my overprotective brother was just going to follow us around.

An hour later, and I am completely ready to go. I had completely packed my bag and said goodbye to each of the Pokémon on the ranch. Now I stand at the entrance giving hugs to my parents and Tristan. Only one last thing to say.

"We're off!"

**This chapter is about half the length of the first two, but don't worry! The fourth chapter for this story is going to be up soon! This was just a perfect place to stop and I really wanted to take my time with what I have in mind for the next chapter. For once I may know what I am doing—what am I saying? I have no clue what I'm doing!**


	4. Special Author's Note

**SPECIAL AUTHOR'S NOTE: **

**Okay, I got some awesome comments from ****Shadow Serenity 57****. They brought up some points I thought I should explain for you, which brings us to this special note. First, why is there pretty much no reaction to Sophie's newfound ability in the first chapter? Well they were her parents and they didn't want her to feel –abnormal, I guess- as for the rest of that point—PLOT! Second, the use of Eevee and the fact that one is shiny. I chose to use Eevees because they are my favorite Pokémon that aren't legendaries. Now for the Shiny, Dusklace will be the **_**only**_** shiny that Sophie ever gets. This was not expected by any of the characters. In fact it is the first shiny that Sophie ever sees, I have a reason for there being a shiny as well so – PLOT! Also ****Serenity**** mentioned that a lot of people use Eevees as starter Pokémon in fan fiction. Really? I did not realize that at all, but my use has reasons. Third point, the fact that breeders can carry more than six Pokémon. As far as I know this is not something that is canon. I am using my creative license for this because I really want Sophie to be able to carry all eight Eevees at once. I am being selfish. So this is something that, as far as I know, is unique to my series verse. Fourth, about the descriptions. Sophie is talking in first person in this story so the descriptions of other people and her Pokémon are going to be more detailed. I've been thinking of having another character describe Sophie, but am not sure how it is going to work out. But she is leaving for her journey; she is more concerned with remembering her family correctly while she's gone than what she herself looks like. I am trying to get her description in the story, but if I just throw it in randomly it won't flow right, at least for me. Fifth point: the time jump. I am sorry if that confused people but I am thinking of doing a separate little story about those two years, how she trained her three Eevees and her interactions with her family and stuff. But I wanted this story to focus on her **_**journey**_**, not the two years leading up to it. I think the separate story might just be a group of drabbles but that is for later. Again I am sorry if the time jump threw you. Stick with me and I will try to work out all the kinks in this story. Sixth point (sorry this is getting long, but these need to be addressed!)- The stones Sophie got for her Pokémon. ****Serenity**** says that '****The stones themselves are supposed to be fairly rare for a human to find, let alone for Pokémon to find.' How do we know that they are hard for Pokémon- especially Eevees- to find? They are natural items intrinsically connected to Pokémon. How do we know that Pokémon can't sense them? Otherwise, how could Pokémon like Arcanine, which evolve when exposed to the stone, be found in the wild? Do they just stumble onto the stones and evolve? Or do they go looking for the stones when they are ready to evolve? Oh my, I'm ranting now! I am so sorry! But still it is a valid point. Seventh point (I'm almost done, really!)- The dowsing machine. What I meant by 'hidden' items was just items that you could not immediately see with a glance, items that are going to take some work to find. Sorry, I really worded it badly in the story. I apologize for not being clear. Two more points and then I'm done and I will get on to the next chapter- her first steps. Eighth point- max revives. Her parents only gave her three, one for each Pokémon. Sorry I should've included the exact number. Note to self: triple check story when typing it up late at night! LAST POINT! Where does Sophie live? Where is she going? Sophie lives in the Unova region. Her family ranch is not actually on the game maps, at least not the paths on the game maps. I learned pretty much all I know about Pokémon from the games. Just so you know I will be using those maps for reference. If you don't know what I'm talking about I'm sure you can find the maps for the games Black/White. Those are the ones I am using for this story. I have not decided whether to use Black City or White Forest yet. Please give me your opinions on which I should use. The answer to where she is going is to be revealed with the PLOT!**

**Oh my, this note is much longer than I meant for it to be…I am just going to post this as a special chapter and continue the actual story next time. I am working on the next chapter right now, so it will be up before my weekend is over! If I missed any points that you are concerned about please put it in a review and I will try to message you about it. If you are a guest I will address your comment in the next chapter. I know I am always saying that I don't know what I am doing, but regarding my plot I do have some ideas. I just like using the phrase to sign off. So- I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I'M DOING!**


	5. Chapter 3 The First Steps

**Chapter 4- The First Steps**

**(I will title the chapters as the ideas come)**

**This chapter is going to be a little different as I came up with an idea on how to get Sophie's description into it. The first part is going to be from the point of view of Avon! I will indicate when the point of view shifts back to Sophie. Thank you for your patience. I now present to you awesome people the next chapter.**

Finally! We are finally going on the journey we dreamed about! Dusk and Dawn are resting in their poke balls as Mommy and I take our first steps out of the ranch without having Big Brother Tristan or Mommy Chiaki or Daddy J with us. (Dusk is not a morning Pokémon and Dawn would be all over the place if she was out.) As we walk onto the path that leads to Driftveil City, I watch Mommy. Her pretty black hair, with hints of indigo, reaches her was as she stands. She is small for her age apparently; visitors to the ranch often mistook her for being around five years old instead of nearly ten that she was. Other visitors said that she looked like an adorable little pixie. I still don't get those comments. She has a slightly heart shape to her face, which seems to emphasize her amethyst eyes which showed so much emotion. Her skin which was lightly tanned from all the time she spent outside helping her parents out suited her. Her face shone with the excitement we both shared. I looked ahead as we reached the path proper, a training place for those from Driftveil that couldn't handle the cold in Cold Storage. There were three trainers on the path, one we knew from our trips into town, another we recognized as from town and a third unknown trainer.

*Change of point of view-Sophie*

As we progressed down the path I noticed that there was a trainer who was not from Driftveil. The boy was sauntering up the path, most likely heading towards the ranch. He is wearing dark jeans and tough black hiking boots with a white tank and a short sleeve denim jacket over it. The denim of the jacket was of a lighter shade than his jeans. With a sturdy back pack tossed over his shoulder and a belt to hold the usual six poke balls- though only three are filled- he is well equipped for a lengthy journey. He looks to be around twelve, meaning he's been on his journey for a while. I wonder what his journey is focusing on. He has short, spiky brown hair and vivid green eyes that seem to pierce though whatever he's looking at. He is about five feet tall and still growing. He's going to be tall. I can tell when he spots me by the way his eyes light up. He's a trainer who likes to battle then, probably aiming for the championship.

As he comes towards me, I start to get nervous and excited, feeling the emotions double because Avon is feeling them too.

"Hey kid, how about a battle?" His tone of voice says he doesn't expect me to be a challenge. This may be my first actual battle, but still! I glance over at the other two trainers on the path. The one I don't really know- I think his name is Charles- seems like he's about to step in, probably thinks it is unfair for a someone so obviously experienced to challenge a kid like me. Miss Joan- who is a sweet older lady that has often stopped by the ranch and who I often talk to when in town- stops him with a shake of the head and a small smile. She isn't going to deny me my first battle and she has seen me training for this journey. I can't help but wonder if she was here today to give me my first battle if there was no one else.

I glance down at Avon who is bouncing from paw to paw before returning my gaze to the boy. "Sure, but first what's your name?"

"Timothy."

"Saphronia. Shall we get started?"

He releases his first Pokémon, a Drillbur. Avon bounces forward into battle position. Drillbur used Fury Swipes, which Avon dodged and countered with the move Sand-Attack. Drillbur's accuracy weakened causing his Scratch attack to miss as well, while Avon's tackle hit home. With Dillbur's attacks constantly missing, Avon is able to land enough tackles to cause Drillbur to faint. With his first Pokémon out of commission, Timothy looks mildly impressed as he sends out his second Pokémon, a Yamask. I call Avon back and bring out Dusklace to experience her first battle. When both of the fresh Pokémon are in position Yamask attacks with an Astonish. It hits Dusk, but the damage is minimal. She counters with Pursuit and thanks to type advantage manages to knock Yamask out with one blow. Timothy is starting to take this battle more seriously as he calls forth his last Pokémon, a Cubchoo. I send Dawnlace out quickly before she breaks her poke ball in her excitement. As she bounces around in battle position, waiting for the Cubchoo to attack so that she can, I have to suppress a giggle. It would be rude. When the Cubchoo finally attacks with a Powder Snow, Dawn is so eager she attacks with Confusion almost before she has to dodge. The little Cobchoo is so confused by the attack for the next few rounds he helps Dawn out by attacking himself until he faints. Dawn dances over to me, extremely proud of how she did, as the fainted Pokémon automatically returns to the poke ball. I look at Timothy, who seems to be in shock. A slow clap brings him back to the present. He cringes then digs out the money he owes me for the battle. As he does, I look to see who is clapping. It's Miss Joan and Charles, both appearing very impressed.

"Here, this is your prize money." As I accept it he continues, "I gotta admit, when I challenged you I thought it would be an easy win." Timothy glances into the tree tops. "Guess I was getting to cocky. Thanks for showing me that."

"If you had had your regular team, I might not have won." I smile up at him, amused by the shocked look on his face. "I would be surprised if that was your regular team- the team you challenge Gyms with. You look to have been journeying for awhile, so I'm sure you have Pokémon that are higher levels than fifteen."

He shakes his head with an astonished smile, but before he can reply someone speaks up from behind me.

"What? You left for your journey an hour ago and you've already had you first battle, Sophie?"

"Tristan! What are you—you aren't—" I manage to splutter out before he interrupts me.

"No I am not following you. I got a call from the Gym leader Clay, he found an Egg, but with his job he just doesn't have time to take care of it. Since I forgot to give you something before you left, I thought I would try to catch up to you in town."

"Old man Clay found and Egg?"

"Trust you to latch on to that bit and completely ignore the fact that I have a gift for you. Here, it's a container for TMs, and yes I left the ones I gathered on my journey in there."

"Meaning every Tm and HM is in there?"

"Well, most of them anyway."

"Um, excuse me? Are you Tristan Stone? The previous champion?" Timothy inquires timidly.

"If you mean the guy who got totally whupped by Alder about ten years ago, then yeah. That's me."

"You're acting like holding the Championship for five straight years in a minor feat!" Timothy seems shocked by my brother's nonchalant attitude.

"Alder's been holding it for ten years now." I can't help but point out.

Silence reigns for a few moments before Tristan can't hold his laughter in any longer. "Were you heading to the ranch?" he manages to ask Timothy around his giggles.

"Oh! Um, yes. I had heard that you lived there and I wanted to ask you a few questions about your journey."

"Well, since I'm heading into town- where you need to go to revive your Pokémon, that was a nice battle by the way- why don't you interrogate me while we walk?"

Fifteen minutes of listening to my brother being questioned about his adventures later, we arrived in Driftveil. Miss Joan, who had walked back with us, wished me luck on my journey and went on her way. We stop by the PokéCenter to drop off the Pokémon to be healed, then Timothy and I tag along after my brother as he visits Clay. Timothy asking more questions and me just wanting to see the egg.

When we finally see the Gym, Clay is already waiting with the egg. Before we get even a step closer I hear a voice.

_AHHHHHHH!_

Clutching my head, I stumble causing Tristan to be by my side in an instant.

"Soph? What's wrong?"

"It's loud!"

"Soph? Can you hear this Egg?"

Timothy is looking at us like we're speaking gibberish, but at this point my head hurts so much I can barely nod. Tristan calls forth two of his Pokémon, his Darmanitan and his Lilligant. Lillgant takes the egg from Clay and sprinkles sleeping powder on the Egg and Darmanitan holds it to keep it warm.

"What's up with little Sophie?"

"Her head hurts. Well, we know what kind of Pokémon is in the egg."

"Oh?"

"An Eevee. A loud one at that."

"Huh. Guess I should be giving the Egg to Sophie then."

"Sophie do you want to take the egg? If it—"

"Actually, I don't think **she** liked Clay, and so she was screaming." I giggle.

Clay looks at me. "She a loud one, then?" At my nod he continues, "Probably going to evolve into a Jolteon then. Thunder hates ground." He smiles as I burst into laughter at his logic- which oddly worked.

"Um, what's going on?" Poor Timothy- no, he said to call him Tim- Tim seemed utterly lost.

Tristan carefully appraises Tim. "Can you keep a secret?" Tim, rather eager to please his idol, agrees immediantely so Tristan glances around to make sure we are alone and continues. "Sophie can understand Eevees. We don't know how or why but she can understand only Eevees. Please don't tell anyone."

As Tim nods, his mind is obviously racing trying to understand what he had just been told and I remember the conversation I had had almost a year ago with my family about whether or not to keep my ability secret, or at least not well known.

We had just returned from town, where Clay had discovered my ability when I had held a conversation with Avon for five minutes. My parents had explained to me that my ability was rather unheard of. Other people had abilities similar but usually it was just with psychic type Pokémon. Just being able to understand one species of Pokémon had never been documented before. So we had decided to keep mine secret until such a time that I would need to publicize it. After the talk, when I had gone to bed, I thought really hard about my ability. I wondered why I hadn't been able to use it before I met Avon and Dusklace. I had been around Flare for my whole life, so why couldn't I understand him previously? I still haven't come up with that answer. The next day I asked my family why they hadn't seemed too surprised about my ability. The answer for them was simple and immediate: I was still Sophie no matter what kind of ability I had. I had given everyone huge hugs and we just went on like normal, but I managed to love my family even more after that.

Now it was time to see how someone who had not known me since I was born reacted to my ability. Tristan's hand gently squeezed my shoulder as we waited for Tim to finish processing the information.

After a few more moments, Tim just shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, got it."

"Wait, that's it?" I am completely flabbergasted. I had been preparing myself for some kind of negative response and this is what happens?

"Eh, it's not like I can really understand what you just told me."

A slow grin grows on Clay's face. "You ain't to bad kid. Ain't too bad." And with that Clay turns around and returns to his Gym.

Tristan just shakes his head. "I was not expecting you to take it so well. Where are you two kids heading after Driftveil?"

"I'm thinking about flying back to Striation City and starting over. I got to cocky and I want to try again."

"Tristan you know I plan on making my way to Striation City to give a real start to my journey by getting the Gym badge."

Tristan gets a sly smile on his face. "So you are both heading to the same place."

After Tim and I glance at each other we reply in unison. "Yes."

"Is there anything stopping you from going together?"

Tim just gives a short no in response as I narrow my eyes. "Tristan you know that I want to do this journey on my own."

"Besides maybe giving her a lift to Striation City, would you help her out in any other way? Besides maybe travelling together, I mean?" Tristan asks Tim.

Tim cocks his head to the side and considers for a moment. "No, not really."

Tristan gives a full out grin at the response.

**Wow! This chapter is super long! How did that happen? As always I hope you enjoy, please review, and any critique is awesome and welcome. If I battle you on any points you make, well… that's just how I am. But if you point something out, I will either try to remedy it or justify it. Sorry for any missed mistakes in the story. Again, as always, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I'M DOING!**


	6. Chapter 4 Flight

**Chapter 5**

**I forgot to mention in the Author's note last chapter that Charles, Clay and Alder are not my characters. They are all in the actual games (Black/White). Charles is a heartbreaker, Alder is the champion and Clay is the Gym leader of Driftveil. I apologize for not mentioning it earlier. Also I have noticed an inconsistency. At first I hint at Sophie having short hair, but when I described her in detail, I gave her long hair. I have corrected it in my 'master' copy. When I finish the story completely I will post the 'master' copy as the final chapter—with only a short author's note at the end and hopefully with all the mistakes corrected. Which is part of the reason I want to have any typos or words that were mistakenly used pointed out to me. It will be appreciated! **

"So how come your Braviary is such a higher level than all your other Pokémon?"

"Braveheart is my family's Pokémon. He went with my older sister, Maria, when she went on her journey. Be careful not to fall off now."

I held Avon securely as they carefully leaned over Braveheart's shoulder to see the land passing under us as we flew. Tim watched with an amused look as we experienced our first flight.

"This is incredible!" I continued talking as she watched the trees go by. A thought occurred when I glanced at Tim. "When was the last time you visited your home?"

"Hmm? Oh, when I left for my journey two years ago."

"TWO YEARS AGO? And you haven't been back since?"

Tim's expression became confused at my outburst. "Well I talk to them often over the phone."

"What about the holidays? You haven't even gone back for Christmas?" I am having trouble imagining not seeing my family for two years. "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Accumula town. I've spent hours on the phone with my family on their birthdays and on Christmas. I've even had presents sent to them." Tim is looking completely lost as to the reason for my outburst.

"Hey Braveheart! Can we change the course a little? You and Tim need to visit your home."

With a happy shriek of affirmation our flight changes direction, going a little more south than we had been.

"Wait! What do you mean we're heading to my home? And why did Brave automatically listen to you?"

"He listened because he misses his home and wants to visit. How often did Maria visit you guys when she was on her journey?"

Tim sat silently for a while.

_Mommy? Brave says thank you. _

_Tell him I say you're welcome._

"Maria visited every chance she got. She wants to be a Pokémon ranger when she is old enough so she spent most of her journey working with the rangers in Pinwheel Forest. It will take us a couple of hours longer for us to reach Accumula than it would to reach Striation. Are you sure you want to go there? It will slow down your journey." When Tim finally speaks he is focused on the distant horizon.

"I had been hoping to get a few more battles in before I challenged the gym anyway, so walking from Accumula to Striation will help with that. And thanks to you letting me ride on Brave, my journey is already ahead of schedule by days."

"You have your journey scheduled?" The astonishment in his voice makes me grin.

"It was a loose schedule. But I had planned on walking from Driftveil to Striation and that would have taken a couple weeks at least. Not to mention the amount of time I would have spent being lost in Castelia City." I glance away from the passing scenery and look at Tim straight on.

He has a thoughtful look on his face as he considers me. "You've been planning this journey for awhile now, haven't you?"

A small smile forms on my face as memories flash through my mind. "Ever since my ninth birthday. I've been studying my father's map and asking my brother questions about his journey. I had planned on leaving soon after my birthday this year and then my family surprised me by getting everything ready for me. Now I might even be close enough to visit home around Christmas time. That is if I don't spend too much time being lost in Castelia."

"You're really worried about that aren't you?"

"Tim, this is the farthest I have ever been from the ranch. Before today, I had never gone farther than Driftveil. Unless there is somebody with me who has been there before, I am going to be lost. There is no question about it."

"Hmmmm."

We fall into a companionable silence, each of us contemplating the journeys ahead of us.

It is a couple of hours till sunset when we arrive at Accumula. Tim returns Brave to his poke ball and then leads us to a house on the edge of the town. Just as he is about to knock—it is his own house but he hasn't been back for two years and he forgot to call ahead—a pretty older woman opened the door while saying something over her shoulder. When she turned and caught sight of Tim, she stopped.

"You're late. We already ate all of your birthday cake. You call us on our birthdays and Christmas, but you haven't once called us on your own birthday." Her expression was amused as she looked at her son. "Why did you decide to finally visit now? And who's the little one standing behind you?"

"Oh, um, you remember who Tristan Stone is right?" Tim seems to be stumbling over his words.

"I do, but I always thought he would be taller. Also that he would be a BOY." Her emphasis on the word boy sent me into a fit of giggles.

"This is his little sister!" Tim extremely embarrassed.

"Hello. I'm Sophie." I quickly introduce myself because Tim seems to be in a state of almost mortification.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Sophie. I'm Tiana. Howard, my husband, is out looking for inspiration for his music. I was just going out to get him for supper. MARIA! Your brother has finally deigned to return and he brought a friend!"

Tim winced at the last bit and watched the stairs with some trepidation. His mother gave me one last smile before leaving the house just as the sound of running feet reached the stairs. A young woman appeared at the foot of the stairs and had to grab the railing to keep from continuing forward and crashing into us. She looked almost identical to Tim. They both looked remarkably like their mother, except their faces are different. Maria and Tiana have rounder jaw lines while Tim's jaw is more square. Maria stood at the stairs for a moment longer before launching herself at her little brother and giving him what seemed to be two years worth of hugs.

After she finally let Tim go she turned to me, a welcoming smile on her face. As she looked me over her smile grew.

"I'm Maria. This idiot's older sister." A noise of complaint escapes Tim, but Maria ignores it. "You guys are staying for supper right? I'll go set two more places on the table."

Almost as quickly as she had appeared, Maria disappears. A few moments later the clatter of dishes can be heard. Tim stands nervously in the hallway, obviously not sure what he should be doing. Suddenly the door opens and a man stands there looking both of us over. It is obvious that he is Howard, Tim's dad. With the square jaw and the vibrant green eyes that are as sharp as a Liepard's claws, he radiates an intimidating atmosphere.

I tilt my head to the side and look right back at him. "You're a musician?" After he simply nods his head, I continue with a smile. "Cool."

A small smile appears on his face. "Let's go sit down. We can talk more then."

Tiana, who had been behind Howard, shakes her head as she leads us to the dining room. Once we are all seated, Maria decides to start an interrogation.

"First off, who are you?"

"Saphronia Stone, but please call me Sophie."

"Okay, Sophie, how old are you?"

"I am ten. I may be small, but I am ten."

Silence for a few moments while Maria stares at me and I am able to eat some of the delicious food Tiana had placed on my plate while we talked.

"Definitely glad I asked that question. Next: how did you meet Tim?" Maria finally continued.

"He was going to visit my older brother just when I started my journey. We met on the path leading to my house and had a battle."

Suddenly the whole family is staring at Tim with looks of disapproval on their faces. Tim looks at me and we both share a smile realizing what they are thinking.

"If you think that I then proceeded to destroy her in battle, you're wrong. She whupped me. Then her brother showed up and proceeded to convince me to give her a ride on Brave since we were heading to the same place. She was also the one who changed our destination from Striation to Accumula."

"No one should go two years without seeing their family if they can help it." I explain when they glance my way. "And I probably would have lost if he had his regular team with him. By the way, are you planning to use Yamask against Alder?"

"I'm not sure. Why?" Tim gives me his full attention.

"Because it won't make it past Grimsley."

The family returns their stares to me, considering what I just said. I continue eating, waiting to hear Tim's reply, until a thought occurs to me.

"Oh, can I let my Pokémon out? I need to get them some food."

When the reply came, both Tim and I snorted.

"May I ask what is so funny about 'as long as they aren't too big'?" Howard asked with a raised brow.

In reply I simply released my three Pokémon. When everyone saw tiny Dawn they smiled in understanding. Then Maria smirked.

"Tim? You lost to these adorable, SMALL Pokémon?"

"Yes, yes I did. Sophie, do you think you could help me put together a team that would stand a chance against the Elite 4 and Alder?"

I look at Tim. "I will not tell you what Pokémon they have."

As I am going to get food for the Eevees, Tiana brings some over for them.

"Do you think I could look at your clothes? I don't think I recognize the stitch and as a seamstress, I am always looking for stronger stitches." She sets the food down and my three little ones start to eat hungrily.

I reach for my bag again. "I think that my parents packed an identical outfit to this one. Let me check."

Maria comes over and looks at my bag. "Isn't that bag to heavy for you to carry?"

"I think my brother put around twenty Float Stones in it to make it lighter. Yep. Here's one and here's the other outfit."

As Tiana pours over the fabric, Maria examines the stone. "This? This is handy. Are they very common?"

"Clay, the Driftveil Gym Leader, finds them all the time when he's mining. He's given quite a few to my parents, for all the help they have given him."

"I wonder if the rangers could work out a deal with him to get some of these. We would be able to help more Pokémon if we were able to carry more supplies."

"Alright, it's getting late. No doubt Sophie and Tim will want to get an early start. This means that Tim will have to go clear off his bed before he can get some sleep." Howard has a mysterious smile on his face as he talks.

"Wait, why would I have to clear off my bed? Have you guys put something on it?" Tim has a wary expression on his face as he asks.

"Hey, Sophie! Want to see Tim's room?" Before I get a chance to answer her, Maria has grabbed my hand and practically dragged me up the stairs.

With Tim following close behind in an attempt to stop Maria, I am taken up the stairs to a room that is obviously Tim's.

"To be honest," I say as I look around, "I was kind of expecting more pictures of my brother."

Tim blushes a deep red as I look around his room. It is simple, with a brown and green color scheme. Only one poster is on the walls and it is one from when Tristan had just been made Champion. I glance over at the bed and grin, turning to talk to Maria and see how long it takes for Tim to notice his bed.

"You know, I have been wondering why Tim is so impressed with Tristan and not Alder. Alder has held the title for ten years. Tristan only held it for five."

"Yes, Alder has held it longer, but he was an adult by the time he got the title. Tristan was younger than me and held it for five years. That is why I am so inspired by your brother. He—"

When Tim stops talking I know that he has spotted the pile of presents on his bed. Two years worth of birthday and Christmas gifts make a very impressive pile.

"Um, excuse me. I, um." Tim stutters to a stop, completely shocked.

"You know, it is going to take you awhile to open all those so why don't we leave you to it?" Maria tossed over her shoulder as she guided me out of the room. "Sophie do you mind sleeping in my room? We can chat some more."

"Not at all. Um, do you have any idea why Tim hasn't come home for the past two years?"

"Oh, I think you'll find out in the morning. Now let's go gossip about my brother."

Giggling, I follow Maria into another bedroom, my little Eevees bouncing around our feet.

In the morning, as Tim and I are getting ready to leave, Tim loaded down with new gear that had been waiting for him in his pile of gifts; Tiana comes up and gives her son a serious look.

"Tim, you really should come visit us more often. No, wait till I'm done. When you started your journey, you said you wouldn't return until you became champion. That does not mean that you cannot visit. As long as you are not giving up then it is okay to come home. Keep pursuing your dream. Just come see us more often. Please."

Howard has come up behind his wife, a soft smile on his face. "Sophie, you are also welcome to come visit us. I think traveling together will help the both of you grow. Be safe."

"I'll- I'll come visit for Christmas!" Tim says before running out of the house.

"I think you guys have embarrassed your son. It was a pleasure to meet you and I thank you for the invitation. Goodbye!" I quickly run out of the house to catch up to Tim.

_Mommy, I liked them._ Avon stated.

_I liked them too. They were kind and the music that man played was beautiful._ Dusk commented sleepily from my arms.

_That girl was fun! Can we go see them again?_ Dawn bounced around the path ahead of us.

"I think we will. Hey Tim! Slow down!"

**Hey, an extra long chapter for a Christmas present to all my awesome readers! So, Tim's family is not going to have a huge role in the story, but they will be mentioned. I wanted you guys to have a sense of who they are. Also, I REALLY wanted to work Christmas and presents into this chapter somehow, cause, HEY! It's Christmas! So, Merry Christmas and Happy New Years! A review would be the perfect Christmas gift for me! As always, I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I'M DOING! **


	7. Special Author's Note 2

**Special Author's Note: (Don't worry, it's shorter than the last.)**

**Hey readers! I'm not dead! Just decided to take a break from writing the story so that I could focus on ironing out the character details. This includes characters that you know nothing about, like the VILLAINS. Oh I am having so much fun with these guys. By the way, this story? I originally planned for it to have a REALLY angsty ending. And I mean serious angst here. Betrayal, sadness, anger, and all that fun stuff. Yeah, not happening. The characters took one look at my plan and laughed their butts off. They then continued to tear my plan up and put it together they way they wanted it to go. I had this one character I had created pretty much just for you guys to hate. Don't think that's going to be very successful. They finally decided to give me some actual plot though! Working on getting to that plot point may take a while though. I am working on the next chapter! I now know where they are currently wanting to go, so it should come out soon. **

**Side note! If any of you guys can think up some RIDICULOUSLY fancy nicknames for some Pokémon, it would be helpful. You'll find out why in the next couple of chapters I promise! It's just that I can only think of so many. The nicknames can be spelled so weird that they are barely pronounceable! If you give me one I will contact you about using it in the story! (Yes, this is all a plot to get more comments. But I really will try to use any given to me if you give me permission.)**

**Carp, this is getting longer than I thought. Sorry!**

**Also, I have given up on knowing what I'm doing, so new little phrase for you guys to look forward to at the end of each thing I post:**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	8. Chapter 5 Leaving Accumula

**Chapter 6**

"Hey Tim! Will you wait for a second?"

"Come on Sophie, we need to get going." Tim glances back at me, impatience in his eyes.

"Tim, what Pokémon are in your team?" I prompt.

Understanding flashes across Tim's eyes and he walks back towards me. "You're willing to help me put together a team?"

"Never said I wasn't. Just that I won't tell you what Pokémon the Elite Four or Alder have."

"This means that you know which ones they have." We continue our talk as we head over to the Poke Center.

"Come on. My brother battled them and worked with them for five years. He was defeated by Alder. The whole group has kept in touch with Tristan and often visits the ranch. Add in the fact that my parents bred some of the Pokémon and you get a girl who is familiar with the group." I spin around and look Tim straight in the face. "I am willing to help form a team that will have a chance against them but I refuse to help you by telling you how they battle or the exact Pokémon they have. That? That would be betraying them. And they're my friends. Well, they are actually more like my other older siblings"

"Then why exactly are you going to help me at all?"

"Because they all like challenging battles. The Elite Four still spar with my brother. Tristan refuses to spar with Alder though. The Four have been complaining that there are no really challenging challengers lately." A grin spreads across my face as Tim starts laughing, realizing just why I'm going to be helping him.

"So pretty much, you are trying to find someone to alleviate their boredom?" Tim replies once he's gotten his laughter under control.

"Yup."

We finally reach the Poke Center and head over to the PC where Tim logs onto his account on Amanita's system. After Sophie glances over the Pokémon he has in the boxes she smiles.

"Your starter is a Tepig? That's a good one. Into the team it goes. Next one that would be good is your Lillipup. And then of course there's Braveheart. Hmm. I have some ideas for the other three but you don't have them yet. This in one way is rather interesting."

"Those three? Wait, what's interesting?" Tim's asks as he retrieves the suggested Pokémon. He returns the Drillbur, Yamask, and Cubchoo to the PC.

"You know I just realized something. You can't have caught that Cubchoo. You hadn't made it to where it likes to live yet right?"

"No, I haven't. It's my sister's. I'll make sure to return it to her next time I see her. Now, you going to tell me what you found interesting?" Tim turns and leans against the wall as he waits for my reply.

I glance at him before turning to leave the Center, finished with the PC. "You don't have a Tympole. You seem to be very thorough when it comes to catching the Pokémon for the Pokédex yet you don't have a Tympole. You went through their territory, I know that much."

Tim remains silent until we reach the edge of the town. There he pauses and looks at the sky.

"Tympoles don't seem to like me very much. Each time I saw one and tried to catch it, it ran away. You think one would be good for the team?"

"Yeah."

"You may have to catch it for me."

"No, I just don't think you ran across the right one yet. Don't worry; I'm sure it will show up."

With that said we finally leave Accumula Town behind and head onto Route 2.

Half an hour after Tim and Sophie have left Accumula Town Tiana Adams notices a commotion near the Poké Center. When she goes to investigate she finds a man with green hair and a fancy cloak that her seamstress eyes could tell was well made but not very sturdy. When she finally focused on what he was saying she nearly burst out laughing. It was a very convincing speech, but it was obvious that the man, Ghetsis, had a different goal in mind. Then the name of the group was said and she had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Team Plasma? She quickly dismissed the whole group. It was obvious that they were criminals trying to take over the region. Tiana was about to return to the house after the Team had left when she noticed two kids battling. Curious she watched. One of the kids was a girl, obviously just starting out on her journey, with a long wavy brown ponytail. The other was a boy that was slightly older with long wavy green hair. When the girl manages to defeat the boy, the boy rattled off something about her Pokémon's voices. _Now isn't that interesting. Wonder what Howard is going to think of that?_ Tiana smiles and returns home to share the news with Maria and Howard.

**Author's Note: Hello people. As you can see the timeline is finalized. Tim and Sophie are **_**just **_**ahead of the main character in the game. Next chapter I plan on introducing at least one new character, maybe two. Next chapter will be out soon, by the way. I just wanted to end the chapter there. So see you soon!**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	9. Chapter 6 Route 2

**Chapter 7**

Tim and I reach one of the ledges that dotted Route 2 before we encountered another person. The boy's eyes lit up and a huge grin spread across his face when our eyes met.

"Oh boy." Tim muttered next to me.

"I wanted some more battle experience before we reached Striation." I glance at him and see him rolling his eyes and raise an eyebrow.

When he notices my raised brow, he sighs. "I know that type. So eager for a battle they don't really look at the opponent and when they lose they get really upset."

"Hmmm. I think you were well on your way to being one of those trainers when we met." At Tim's aghast look I smile sweetly. "Did you really think much before you challenged me?"

He sighs. "No, no I didn't. And you're right. Think you can help me avoid becoming like that again?"

"I'll see what I can do."

The eager trainer reaches us.

"When trainers' eyes meet, a battle begins!"

Incredulous, I look at Tim and see him barely containing laughter. _That was so cliché! Did that kid really just say that?_ I smile at the boy.

"Your name?"

"Names don't matter! Let's battle!"

Without letting me say anything more, the boy releases a Patrat. The brown Pokémon chatters and prepares for battle. I sigh and release Avon from his poke ball.

"Patrat! Use Bite!"

As the small Pokémon runs towards us, I give Avon his directions, sending the instructions along the link in our mind in case he couldn't hear me.

"Avon, dodge and use Echoed Voice."

Once Avon is out of the way of the Patrat's vicious Bite, he lets loose a cry that echoes, even in the tree lined Route.

"Uh, Patrat, um. Oh, use bide!"

The boy is clearly shaken, not expecting that kind of attack. While his Pokémon starts storing energy, I give Avon the next round of orders.

"Avon use Sand-Attack."

Avon quickly scrapes sand into the Patrat's face using his paws. That Patrat flinches back and continues to store energy, though he received no more on that round.

"Avon try tail whip."

Avon whips his tail, lowering the Patrat's defenses a bit. The Patrat finally releases the energy it had stored but Avon manages to dodge just in time. As Avon waits for my next order he starts bouncing from side to side in excitement. He is obviously enjoying the battle.

The boy doesn't seem to be as happy about the battle as Avon is. "Patrat! Use, use…. Use Tackle!"

"Avon, try to dodge and use Echoed Voice again."

Avon is unable dodge the tackle and is thrown a few feet. He quickly gets back up and lets the cry loose again. The Patrat suddenly appears to be confused by the echoes.

"Patrat! Tackle again!"

"Avon continue using the same attack."

The Patrat is obviously trying to follow its trainer's orders but somehow manages to injure itself instead of Avon. Avon quickly let loose his echoing cry and the Patrat falls down. It tries a few times to get back up, but eventually it simply passes out. The boy looks like he's about to cry, but instead he calls out another Pokémon.

"Lillipup! Come on out!"

"Avon, come back. Let's let Dawnlace have a turn."

I release Dawn and the boy seems on the verge of hysterical giggles when he sees her.

"Are you all right?" I ask, honestly concerned.

"I'm fine. Lillipup! Use Take Down!"

"Dawn! Try to dodge it! Then use confusion."

I really don't like that attack since it damages both Pokémon. The Lillipup manages to catch Dawn and they both go down for a few seconds. Dawn gets up first and looses her psychic attack on the Lillipup. The Lillipup's eyes seem to go out of focus.

"Uh, Lillipup use Roar!"

"Oh!"

The Lillipup lets loose a roar that forces Dawn back into her poke ball. Dusklace comes out to take her place.

"Dusk use Pursuit!"

"Dodge and use Tackle Lillipup!"

Dusk easily dodges the tackle then pursues the other Pokémon and strikes it down. It's a tenacious little Pokémon and it jumps back up almost immediately.

"Lillipup, use Tackle again!"

"Dusk, use Echoed Voice."

The boy flinches at hearing me order the use of the attack that took out his first Pokémon. The Lillipup runs for the tackle but, Dawn's earlier psychic attack had confused it and it ended up hurting itself. Dusk let loose her cry and it had enough power to finish the Lillipup off.

I smile and thank my small Pokémon for their hard work once all Pokémon return to the poke balls. The boy silently hands over my prize money.

"Good battle." I smile at him.

He flinches at my words and then glares at me. Next thing I know I feel myself falling off the ledge that I had moved closer to without realizing it during the battle. Tim tries to grab me and slips after me. I see the boys face covered in shock. He hadn't realized how close to the edge I had been. He probably hadn't meant to push me.

I squeeze my eyes closed and try to brace myself for impact. It isn't a high ledge. People jump from them all the time as a one way shortcut. The impact that comes isn't one from hitting the ground. I crack my eyes open and find myself having my feet gently touch the ground beneath the ledge. I hear Tim softly being place on the ground as well.

"Whoops. You two okay there?" A voice said from behind us.

I glanced behind me and had to look **way** up. The man who had caught me was at least six foot four. His sandy blonde hair was cut short, his deep brown eyes seemingly unremarkable. As he set me upright I noticed his clothes. A brown leather jacket, plain white t-shirt, khaki jeans, and brown leather hiking boots. All very sturdy and sensible. He had been traveling for a while if the clothes were anything to go by, and his bag- a sturdy brown canvas rucksack- told the tale of many journey. All were well taken care of and well made.

"Are you all right?" He knelt down to look into my face as he asked.

"Oh! Um, yes I'm all right!" I look back at his face in time to see a soft smile flash across his face.

I glance over at Tim and see him thanking the one who stopped his fall.

This man was just a few inches shorter than his companion. With a three-quarter length black hoodie over a deep blue v-neck shirt, denim skinny jeans such a dark blue that they were almost black and black leather hiking boots, his stark white hair, hanging just above his shoulders stood out even more against the greenery. It is his eyes that catch my attention though. They were so pale. For a second they reminded me of my mother's, but when I looked closer I could tell that they were more gray, leaning to true silver.

"I'm glad that neither of you got hurt. That could have been a nasty fall." He glances my way and smiles. "Oh, how rude of me. My name is Kevin. The tall guy over there is Clint. What about you two kids?"

As Tim gives his name I give the man, Kevin, another look over. This time I notice a black tattoo on his right wrist, stark against his pale skin. Intricate wings furled around his wrist in a design that would be easily recognized. On his opposite wrist is a plain black armband, just big enough that it would cover the tattoo. When I glance back to his face I notice a choker that looks like it is black leather encircling his neck. _Why do I get the feeling that it isn't really leather?_

"And you, little one?" The deep voice coming from behind me makes me jump. I hadn't realized how deep in thought I was.

I give the two men a bright smile. "I'm Sophie! Thank you so much for catching us. Now we just need to get back up there. And people say that it is safe to jump off of those ledges." I glare up at the ledge.

"Well, I think they're supposed to be safe for those who mean to jump, not for those who trip." Tim grimaces when he glances at the innocent looking ledge.

The rumbling laugh that emerges from Clint causes both of us to jump.

Kevin gives the two of us a much softer smile. "It's pretty obvious to me that at least one of you was pushed. We were close enough to catch you, and also close enough to hear a bit of what was going on up there. Some kid was a sore loser. The both of you are truly kind to try to cover up like that."

"It was an accident. The boy didn't mean to hurt me. He certainly didn't mean for either of us to fall." I let a more honest smile grace my face as I shrug. "We are really grateful to you for catching us. But we really have to get going. It will take us a while to get back up there-Eep!"

A startled squeak escapes me when I am suddenly picked up and placed on top of the ledge. Clint soon helps Tim up to the top as well.

Clint gives us another smile, so soft it almost isn't there. "That'll speed things up some for you. Try not to fall off another ledge."

I stare at him for a few solid seconds. "I guess there are some upsides to being tall. Next time you are going to do that to someone, you should probably give them some warning."

"Sorry. Be safe on your journey."

"Thanks. Goodbye."

With that Tim helps me up and away from the edge. Once we're both standing we give the pair below us a wave and turn to head further along the Route.

Clint Wood stares after the two kids after they have disappeared from view over the ledge. He then looks over at his boss, who is also watching where the kids had been.

"So that girl's the one?" His deep voice seems overly loud now that there are only the two of them around.

"Yeah. Elegance!" A sleek Espeon comes out of a poke ball. Kevin Emerson looks at his oldest friend. "Were you able to sense whether or not the girl could talk to you?"

The voice of the Psychic Pokémon echoes in Kevin's head. Surprise flickered across his face for a moment before disappearing. Clint waited to hear what the female Pokémon had to say.

Kevin is silent for a few minutes. "Well, the girl definitely knows that I have an Eevee of some kind. They were conversing for a good amount of the encounter."

Besides an extra blink, Clint shows no sign of surprise. He returns his gaze to where he had placed the tiny girl about half an hour before.

"She may have more up her sleeve than we originally thought. Does 'Artemis' have the girl's proper description?" Clint murmurs quietly.

"No, 'Artemis' does not. And not only that, but she forgot her Xtransceiver **again.** Why is that girl so forgetful?" Kevin runs his hands through his hair in frustration at 'Artemis'.

"So basically, all 'Artemis' knows is that she's looking for a girl who can talk to Eevees? Well that ought to be interesting." Clint glances at his boss again. "We should hurry and meet up with 'Serendipity'."

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you would be a better boss."

"What? And have to make major decisions that will affect multiple lives? No thanks. That's way too much pressure for me."

"Yeah. I know. But the thought does cross my mind occasionally."

Clint calls out his Mandibuzz, Mario, and the two men get on with Elegance hopping into Kevin's arms. They continue chatting as Mario takes off and flies towards Castelia City.

"I don't trust those two guys." I speak suddenly once we are out of earshot of the ledge.

"Wha- Why? They seemed nice enough." Tim jumps, having been lost in thought.

"That Kevin guy had an Eevee."

"And that makes them suspicious? Wait how do you even know that?"

"I know because the Eevee talked to me. And it was the way the Eevee started talking to me. It was as if it already knew that I would hear it."

"I see." Tim got his thoughtful expression on. "I can think of two ways it could think you could hear it. It is a Psychic type or it heard about your ability from your Eevees."

"No, my little ones didn't say anything to her. They feel a bit suspicious of those guys as well. The Eevee might have been and Espeon, but I still think it was something else." I contemplate silently for a little while.

"So how did you like being picked up so easily?" Tim suddenly grins at me. "Your expression when that giant plucked you from the ground was priceless. At least I had some warning before he picked me up. That guy sure was strong."

I glare at Tim, who is laughing at the memories. "I nearly freaked out for your information. I guess I'm lucky that I have some experience being picked up by giants since my dad is one too. I hope we don't have too much farther to go to reach Striation. I want to get Avon and the others to the Poké Center."

"Well, we should reach there by sunset and if we encounter another trainer, I'll get some practice in myself. When did you teach your Pokémon those TM moves anyway?"

"I borrowed Tristan's TM box about a year ago and taught them then." I grin at the memories of slipping in and out of my brother's room while he was out on the ranch. "He had already taught the moves to his Pokémon and planned to return it, so I saw no harm in it."

"So basically you stole them."

"Borrowed."

Tim shakes his head at me and we continue chatting as we press farther on along Route 2.

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! A new chapter for you. I got it done supper quick to make up for the short chapter I released the other day. This chapter also ended up being really long. Maybe the longest one yet. *happy dance* I introduced two new character in this chapter. Please tell me what you think of them. Also, I worked really hard on the battle. The first one I did was, well, carp. So I really hope that I did a better job with this one. Please review and give me your honest opinion.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	10. Chapter 7 First Gym Battle

**Chapter 8**

Tim and I make it to Striation with no more Trainer battles. Tim had to get the practice he wanted from the few wild Pokémon we encountered. We make a quick stop at the Poke Center to get everyone into their top conditions before we head over to the Gym.

When we enter, we are surprised to find that there are only the Trainers present.

"Oh! Hello there. Sorry, we weren't expecting any trainers here till later today. So all the other Trainers are getting their errands done for the day now." The green-haired Cilan approaches from the back of the Gym as he talks, his two brothers following. "Oh my! Is that you Tim?"

"Hello. It's good to see the three of you again. My friend here is looking for a battle." Tim greets them, sending a grin my way at the end.

"So you want to challenge us? Well, Cilan and me have gotten word that we will have challengers coming later today. Cress? You want to take this one?" Chili glances at his other triplet.

"Sure! It's been what? Two years since we last saw you, huh Tim? Glad to see that you are doing well." Cress grins at Tim. When he turns to me with that same grin, I am somehow put at ease. I realize then that the three Gym Leaders don't recognize me. They're rather new to the post, so they didn't have to battle my brother. They do know my parents, having gotten all three of their Lillipups from them, but it I had been on one of my trips with Tristan when they came to receive the little Pokémon. "So, what's your name? It's not polite to start a battle without introducing yourself."

"I suppose being a Gym Leader makes it easier because everyone knows your name before challenging you, huh? I'm Sophie. Nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too. Shall we go ahead and get started?"

"Please."

We get into the positions in the Gym's special battle ground for the leaders. Once in place, we let out our first Pokémon. Cress let out his Lillipup. When the little guy saw me it gave an excited yip. A flash of confusion crossed over Cress's face and can see when he shrugs it off as excitement for the coming battle.

(Let's keep just who we are a surprise for later why don't we?) I nonverbally tell my Eevees. As they give their agreement, I bring out Avon's poke ball and let him out. He bounces out of the ball with a flourish of his tail. The excitement came off him in waves; similar waves were coming from my other two. I could even feel some coming from the egg which I had situated safely into the pouch on my belt. I grinned at Cress, getting one in return.

"Let's go!"

"Lillipup, use Leer!"

"Avon, use Echoed Voice!"

Lillipup gives Avon a look, lowering his defenses a bit. Avon gives his echoing cry, causing the Lillipup to stumble with the damage.

"Lillipup use Bite!"

"Avon, dodge and Echo."

I've issued the same command to Avon so many times in his training that I able to shorten the long name. I watch as the Lillipup runs to Avon and manages to land the attack. Avon flinches at the damage, unable to do his attack. Neither Pokémon is ready to give up, so we prepare our next orders.

"Lillipup, let's us Roar." Cress orders with a grin.

"Av-" I stop in the middle of my order as the Lillipup roars and forces Avon back into his poke ball. Dusklace pops out, calm and prepared. As my mind quickly calls up her attacks, I notice all three of the Leaders' surprise at the fact that I have a Shiny Pokémon.

"Dusklace use Pursuit."

"Oh, Lillipup use Leer!"

Dusk chases down the Lillipup and tackles it, causing it to stumble. The Lillipup gets back up and glares at Dusk, who has a rather mischievous look in her eyes.

"Lillipup use Tackle!"

"Dusk, use-"

(Can I use Return?)

"Return."

Happiness and eagerness flow back towards me as Dusk dodged the tackle and turned the full force of her happiness to be with me towards the Lillipup. The attack was so strong that the Lillipup was knocked down and unable to get up.

"Lillipup, you did well. Come on back. Panpour, come on out. It's your turn."

"Good job, Dusk! Let's give Dawnlace a turn. Dawn!"

As we are switching out our Pokémon, a loud crack sounds. The Pokémon's superior hearing allows them to pinpoint its location much faster than we were.

_Your pouch! The Egg!_ Dawn bounds over and noses the flap on the pouch open some.

As we all watch, a little brown head pops out of the pouch. The newly hatched Eevee wriggles out and looks at me, its wish to battle clear enough in its eyes that even the Gym Leaders could tell.

"Hello Joltlace. You certainly made an entrance. But, you're not quite ready to battle yet. Just watch, and afterwards we'll go and get you ready for the next Gym." I gather the newest member of my team into my arms, her head drooping in disappointment. "Sorry. Shall we continue?" I watch as Cress shakes off the surprise at the sudden hatching.

He looks at me and grins. "Let's go Panpour. Use Fury Swipes!"

"Dawn dodge and use Psychic!"

The Panpour bares its claws and furiously attacks Dawn. Dawn easily side steps the attack as her mind focuses a strong telekinetic force and aims it at the opponent. The Panpour falls to its knees under the force. Dawn is unable to keep the force consistent and has to let up. Panpour unsteadily gets up. Both are a little unsteady on their feet but neither is done.

"Panpour! Scald!"

"Dawn- Eep!"

Everyone gasps as Dawn dodges the Panpour's burst of scalding water scalding water. The only problem is that I had ended up behind her during the battle and when she dodged, I and my newest Eevee were in the direct line of fire. The high powered burst of water was coming much too fast for me to dodge. Dawn lets out a panicked cry, her psychic abilities going out of control. Suddenly, the water coming towards me stops, hanging in mid air. Then the water is flung back at the Panpour. It happens so quickly that the Panpour doesn't even get a chance to dodge. The strength and power of its own attack turned back on itself knocks the Panpour down and out.

Dawn rushes over to as Avon and Dusk force themselves out of their poke balls. Jolt is mewling rather worriedly at me, but I am unable to reassure them, being in a state of shock. The others are able to shake their shock off and rush over to me to make sure I'm not hurt. Cress stops and returns his Panpour to its poke ball before hurrying over. When he touches my shoulder, my strength leaves me and my knees buckle. As I sink to the ground, my Eevees crowd onto my lap and snuggle down around me, all of them glaring at Cress.

For a moment everyone just watches the Eevees comfort me, the other Trainers able to move but still in a state of shock. Tim has been patting my head and shoulders, trying to make sure that I'm okay without disturbing my Pokémon. Finally he collapses into a squat, his head hanging between his arms.

"Sophie, are you hurt?"

"N-no. Just a-" I clear my throat in an attempt to return my voice to normal. "Just a little shaken."

With that confirmation the Gym Leaders join us on the ground, relief washing over their faces.

"Oh, thank goodness." Cilan breathes, "I can't believe how we all just froze when the attack headed your way."

"It's the first time that has ever happened." Chili fidgets, adrenaline from the incident obviously still flowing through him. "I must say that I'm glad a Psychic type Pokémon was on the field when it happened. I don't even want to think about what would have happened if the little Espeon hadn't been there."

Everyone shudders, shying away from the thoughts of what could have resulted if Dawn hadn't been one of the battling Pokémon.

I look down and Dawn and finally manage to move my hands. Shakily I stroke her head.

"Thank you Dawn. I'm sorry for scaring all of you. I'm alright now."

"I think we should get you over to the Poke Center to get some rest and to have all of the Pokémon looked at. I really think you should be looked at just in case." Tim stands and holds his hands out to help me up.

As I stand, Dawn stalks over to Cress and swipes her claws at his leg. Avon, Dusk, and Jolt all growl approvingly at her actions.

"Dawn! Calm down. It was an accident! I was just in the wrong place at the wrong moment. It wasn't anyone's fault!" I quickly attempt to scoop her up and nearly fall. Cilan manages to catch me before I hit the floor

"Come on; let's get you to somewhere you can rest." He gives me a gentle smile as everyone helps me to safely get the Poke Center. Once there, the Pokémon are handed over to be healed and I am sat down in the sitting area while the Gym Leaders quickly brew up some tea to help steady my nerves. Once we finish the tea and the Pokémon are returned at full health, the Leaders start up a conversation after quietly talking for the few minutes it took for the healing.

"Well, first off, we would like to officially present you with the Trio Badge. We would normally give you a TM as well, but I have the feeling you already have the TM for Work Up."

I grin at them. "You guys figured it out?"

They smile back as Tim glances between us. "Okay, what am I missing?"

"My parents bred the Lillipups used by the three of them. Cress's recognized me at the beginning of the battle. I wasn't sure about whether or not they would catch on."

"We did, and- in a way- that leads us to the second part. We think it would be a good idea to get a Psychic type Pokémon to stay in the Gym so as to prevent accidents like the one earlier from happening again." Chili continues.

"A Munna." Tim says with a shrug.

"What?" A confused look crosses Cress's face.

"Munna. It's a Psychic type that is found in the Dreamyard."

Sophie thinks for a moment and then agrees."That's a good idea. If you guys are able to get one with the Telepathy or- even better- the Forewarn ability, that and its psychic powers should be able to protect the Trainers. Especially if you teach it moves like Telekinesis, Protect, Safeguard, Reflect, and- probably the best option- Barrier."

"Yep, you're the daughter of Jeremiah, all right." Cilan comments.

Heads tilted in curiosity, Tim and I turn towards him.

"Jeremiah always seemed to know random, but useful, facts about Pokémon native to Unova." He explains.

"Oh, is that all? I think he got the habit of spouting random fact from my mom. He tends to wonder why things are named what they are. Like why a town map is a _town_ map and not a _region_ map. Stuff like that."

Tim glances at me. "So you take more after your mom?"

"Nope. I take after them both pretty equally."

Chili has been watching me with a considering look on his face. "Sophie, what is the goal of your journey?"

"To learn more about Pokémon so that I can be a better breeder."

"What do you say to doing us a favor?"

"Chili?" His brothers are completely confused by where Chili is heading.

I raise a brow to indicate that I am listening.

"Want to go catch us a Munna?"

**Author's Note: I was going to continue, but this line just ended the chapter perfectly. I am seriously considering not posting the next chapter until I get at least one more review. I am in need of some love here people! I am feeling, well, that no one is reading. Just one comment! And then you'll get to see Sophie's reaction to this request!**

**Okay, comment begging aside now. I really have often wondered how the Trainers managed to not get hurt or injured in the battles. Because some of the moves—like Earthquake and Surf—should have hurt or at least knocked the Trainers down. It really bothered me. So – my solution. **

**More reasons for you to comment for the next chapter: I am going to introduce a new traveling companion! *gasps* Was that a spoiler? Heck no. You will have no idea what hit you.**

**See you soon I hope.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	11. Chapter 8 Dreamyard

**Chapter 9**

"So this is the Dreamyard, huh?" I look around the ruins we had just entered.

"Yup. This is where you get to catch a Munna." Tim grins, knowing that I felt a bit nervous about actually catching a Pokémon. It would be the first Pokémon for me to catch.

It had taken a while for the Gym Leaders to actually convince me to try to get them a Munna. They finally managed it by telling me that to understand Pokémon properly, I would also need to understand how they are traditionally caught. So I reluctantly agreed, but I still had reservations.

As we head farther into the ruins to locate the Munna we were after, I am suddenly tackled to the ground. A mass of pink is all I am able to see from my position on the ground. The suddenness of the attack has Tim frozen in shock for the moment.

"YLVYNA! NO!" A girl's voice comes from the same direction that the pink mass, an Audino I finally realize, came from.

It was not a girl, like I originally thought, but a young woman. Her wavy blond hair was like spun gold and reached her mid back. She wore it in a loose braid that was draped over her left shoulder. Her sky blue eyes were full of mirth that spread down to her Cherrim pink lips, though she was obviously trying not to smile. She looked to be about sixteen and stood around five foot two inches.

While her face said she was a sweet and gentle person, her outfit brought out the hidden glint of steel in her eyes. She wore a red v-neck shirt that was long enough to be a short dress. Over it was a white button up shirt with sleeves to her elbows. The white shirt was tied just beneath her rather large breasts. She wore her dark denim skinny jeans tucked into her black leather knee-high lace up boots. There were two packs on her, a black leather mini back pack and a black leather pouch strapped to her right leg. Her jewelry was more of a mix between elegant and tough. A black leather choker with a deep red garnet pendent graced her neck with matching garnet drop earrings. On her right wrist was a black leather bracelet with short metal spikes. It was the detailing on her shirt that really caught my attention though. Her shirt had a detail of black wings on the right hip, reminding me of the wings I had seen recently on Kevin's wrist.

"I'm sorry about Ilvi. I only recently caught her, so she doesn't know what not to do yet. Are you okay?" The young woman asked as she pulled her Audino off of me and helped me up from the ground.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine." My thoughts were spinning rather crazily. "Wait. Ilvi? I thought you called her Ylvyna earlier."

"I did. Ylvyna is her official nickname, but to save time during battles and stuff, I just call her Ilvi for short."

"Long names are mouthfuls, aren't they? I often shorten my Pokémon's names as well."

She gave me a considering look before smiling. "My name is Jennifer. What's yours? Both of yours?"

She glanced at Tim, bringing him into the conversation. He smiled back at her.

"I'm Timothy Adams. Tim for short."

I hesitate for a second before replying to her question. "Saphronia Stone. But it is easier to say Sophie."

"Saphronia? That's a beautiful name! Do you mind if I use it as a Pokémon's name?"

We both blink at her, completely confused. She rolls her eyes at our confusion, obviously used to the reaction but tired of having to explain.

"My full name is Jennifer Smith. Totally common and bland. So to make up for it, I give the Pokémon I catch really fancy and often long names. Like Ylvyna. If I hear a name that is unusual or uncommon, I tend to write them down for future use. I do the same if I think of one. But if the name is someone's I like to check to make sure that it is okay for me to use it. What's so funny?"

By the time she had finished explaining, I was laughing so hard that I had nearly fallen down again.

"I'm sorry, it's just that when I heard yours and your Pokémon's name, I had wondered if it was something like that."

She started laughing along when she got it. Tim looked between the two of us, utterly confused and starting to wonder if we were alright.

"Is there something wrong with the name Jennifer? Or with having a common name?"

Jen glanced at him and shook her head. "Males." She muttered to herself before answering his question. "There's nothing wrong with it, I just want to give my Pokémon names that when called won't also call fifty other Pokémon."

Tim nods his head in understanding. There is a rustle in the tall grass just behind him and we all turn to check it out. A Munna floats up out of the grass and stops, watching us.

"Tim! Why don't you catch it?" I try to push him towards the Pokémon but he digs his heels in with a grin.

"Nope. You were the one the Gym Leaders asked a favor of. You get to do it."

I glare at him and his grin gets even bigger.

"I don't have a poke ball."

"Oh! I can help! Here's a Heal Ball!" Jen suddenly thrusts a ball into my hands, smiling.

"I don't suppose you would catch it for me?" She shakes her head. "Drat. Well, no complaining about how I do this. Dawn!"

As my Psychic type comes out, Tim frowns. "It would be easier if you used Dusk. Type advantage and all that."

I look over my shoulder at him as I head towards the floating Pokémon. "Do you want to do this? No? Then shut up."

Jen is trying to stifle her giggles into her hand as I turn back around.

As soon as I get close enough for the Munna to start getting nervous, I sit down and dawn settles in my lap.

"So, have the two of you been traveling together long?" Jen asks Tim.

"No, just for about a week actually."

"Really? You guys must have known each other for a while though right?"

"Nope, again, just for about a week."

"But the way you guys interact is like you grew up together."

Tim shrugs. "We just get along really well."

"All done." I say as I stand up and start walking back towards the city. They both look at me, then where the Munna had been and then back at me again.

"What? But there was no battle." Tim states as he and Jen run to catch up to me.

"Nope."

"Then how did you catch it?"

"I talked to it."

Jen stops. "You talked to it."

"To her, yeah. She is Psychic and Dawn is Psychic, so talking wasn't very hard. She says her name is Dream."

"You talked to it?"

"Look, if either of you have a problem with how I caught Dream, then why don't you show me how to catch Pokémon the 'right' way, because no one has ever shown me the proper technique for it." I am starting to get frustrated with the two of them.

Tim raises his hands in defense. "No problem, just wondering how talking to it got it in a poke ball."

I sigh. "I wasn't about to take HER away from here if she didn't want to come, so I asked her if she was happy here. She said she was, but that she was also bored. She told me that she had fun watching the trainers that come here to prepare for the Gym battle and wanted to see those battles. When I told her that I was looking for a Munna to help out in the Gym, she said that she would do it. So I asked her if she wanted to remain a wild Pokémon or if she would like to go into a poke ball. I also told her that she would be safe from being taken away from the Gym if she was in a poke ball. She agreed to get in the ball and there you go. That's how I caught her." I consider what happened for a moment. "We did check with her mother that it was alright for her to go. She said that as long as Dream was treated properly, then it was fine."

"You checked with her mother."

"Yep!"

"My brain is starting to hurt." Tim rubs his temples to try to get rid of the coming headache. I grin and turn to Jen.

"What about you? Do you have a problem with how I caught her?"

She smiled at me. "No, it was just the fact that you talked to the Pokémon and got its permission to catch it. I have a friend that has done that before. You just caught me by surprise."

I nod at her and we continue to the City. When I handed Dream over to Chili, Tim insisted on informing him on how I caught her. When Chili burst out laughing, his brothers came to see what was so funny, and the story had to be told again. By this time my face was burning. Even Cilan couldn't help but giggle at my tactics.

Blushing I glare at all of them before turning and running over to the Poke Center. When I got there, I waited for Tim to catch up. We needed to decide whether or not to stay the night at the Poke Center or not. Jen actually caught up with me first.

"I don't think they were laughing at you. I think they were laughing more in realization that your way is actually possible. Or something."

"The point of my journey is to understand Pokémon so that I can be a better breeder. If I don't learn how to talk to Pokémon, how am I to understand them?" I look her in the face."While I want to understand my Pokémon the best, I want to be able to understand others as well. Does that bother either of you?"

Tim is leaning against the wall, having come in just a few seconds behind Jen. He grins and shrugs. "I got no problem with it. I just plan on paying better attention next time."

We look at Jen and see her smiling a tiny smile.

"I know I said that I have a friend who talked to a Pokémon before catching it, and I do, but I have done something similar to this myself."

"Oh?"

"I found one of my Pokémon injured on a Route between towns back where I'm from. I caught her in a poke ball and took her to a Poke Center. Once she was healed I gave her the option of going back to her wild home or she could come travel with me. She decided to travel with me. So I definitely don't have a problem with it."

I smile at her and then freeze, remembering something. "Oh! I forgot about Jolt!"

I pull my newest Eevee's poke ball from my belt. At the same time I am also pulling out the Thunder Stone I had gotten for my birthday. "I'm sorry it took me so long to remember my promise. First thing we have to do is evolve you. Ready?"

Jen and Tim try to stifle their laughter as Jolt literally jumps onto the Stone. As the white light starts to swirl around, we start to see her fur lengthen into spikes. Others in the Poke Center gather around to watch. Before anyone can discern any more, the light grows too bright to see. Once the light has faded enough for everyone to see again, Jolt was fully evolved into a young Jolteon. Small sparks of excess electricity from her evolution jumped from spike to spike before settling in the white fur that made up the ruff around her neck. She pranced around in place for a few moments, getting used to her new form, before she leaped into my lap and looked into my face, pleading to get to battle.

I laugh. "I know what you want, but you still need more experience. And I know just the place for you to get some. Tim, is it okay if we continue on instead of staying the night here?"

"I don't see any particular problem, but we wouldn't be getting very far."

"It's okay. The place I want to get to isn't all that far." I stand up and watch as Jolt dances around my feet before looking at Jen. Talking to her over the past hour or so had given me a fairly good idea of what kind of person she was. "You want to come with us Jen? It could be fun."

She looked startled at the offer, then grinned. "I'd love to!"

"Then come. The two of you will need to keep up with me."

**Author's Note: Hello people! I got, what, two reviews? Sad but also happy. Thank you to UEG nastykiller and xXCelebiXx for your reviews. Hey, now you guys know why I wanted those fancy smancy (My spell check wants to change smancy to swanky. WTF?) names! Only one person has given me any. (Puppy dog eyes appear) Won't you give me more? Won't you give me more reviews? I really need feedback, people. I can't correct mistakes I made if they are not pointed out to me. And honestly, I really am not sure how many people are reading this. Is this just a waste of my time? Please, let me know. I won't post the next chapter until I get some reviews. (Preferably at least three) I am about to go and start writing it now- well tomorrow, I need sleep- and will probably have it mostly done by the end of the weekend. But I won't post it. This writer is going to get stingy with her chapters from now on. Reviews lower my level of stinginess. Hope to hear from you soon.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	12. Chapter 9 Route 3 Part One

**Chapter 9 Route 3 part one**

Even as I run towards my goal, I have to slow down and admire the fountain area that separates Striation City from Route 3. It is such a peaceful, pretty little area. _Maybe after I have finished the main part of my journey, I can come back and spend some time here._ I pick up my speed again and rush out of the area and onto Route 3 proper. I pause, allowing Tim and Jen to catch up some before I'm off again, Jolt following right on my heels.

_It's around here somewhere._ I glance around the path ahead of me until I spot a low plateau. Grinning, I run up the steps to the top. There are two buildings here. One looks to be a Preschool, with a playground full of younger kids. The other is my destination. In the building's backyard there are a couple of Petilils playing. In front of a building, an old man is arguing with a young teen.

"Look, just give me back my Pokémon!"

"No, you look, you whippersnapper! If you don't pay, then you can't have your Pokémon back."

"But-"

I tap the boy on the shoulder. When he turns to me, I smile. "It would be easier if for you to just pay."

He looks away. "I don't have the money."

"You could always challenge some of the kids next door. And if you still don't have enough, you could always go challenge the Gym." I glance at the old man. "How long has the Pokémon been here?"

He is staring at me as he answers. "The Pokémon the whippersnapper left with my wife has grown nine levels."

"So he owes you one thousand?" I turn back to the boy. "Go and collect fifteen hundred. That way you will have plenty in case your Pokémon levels up again, which is quite possible."

The teen looks at me, then nods and runs off. Jen and Tim had caught up with me just before I interrupted the quarrel. They're looking at me in confusion which only grows more when the old man starts talking to me.

"You know, I didn't believe it when your parents told me you had finally started your journey."

I turn to look at him. "Why not?"

"You weren't answering your Xtransceiver."

"My- CARP!" I check the Xtransceiver on my wrist to find the battery dead. "Oh, man. Tristan is going to be so mad!"

"Good to see that nothing bad has happened on your journey so far. The two confused kids behind you traveling with you?"

"Yup! This is Tim and Jen. Hey Gramps, would it be okay if we stay the night here?"

"Sure. Granny will want to hear all about your journey so far and that would keep you here till it got dark anyways. Come on you two young-uns. Let's get inside." The old man enters the house without waiting for us.

I turn to Tim and Jen. "This is the Daycare. The couple that runs it is pretty close to my parents, and I often talk to them on the Xtransceiver. I've never had the chance to visit them before, but they had described the area around here quite often. Come on! Let's go in."

"Wait, are you sure it's okay for us to stay here?" Jen asks, startled at the way things went so quickly.

"I don't know..." Tim trails off, trying to get his thoughts in order before speaking them.

I grin at them. "We're already here. They know we're. We don't have much of a choice." As I finish speaking, a Lilligant comes out of the house and pushes us into the building.

"There you are! Now, Sophie. I want to see your little ones." An old lady zeroes in on me as soon as we enter the back rooms of the Daycare.

"Actually Granny, the main reason we're here tonight and not tomorrow, is because of one of my little ones." I nudge Jolt, who had oddly gotten shy, forward so that Granny can get a good look at her. "This is Joltlace. She hatched today and I evolved her just a little while ago. She is really eager to battle, but I want her to have some training before I let her battle. I WILL pay. What do you say?"

"I say you WILL NOT pay me." As I open my mouth to object, Granny raises her hand to stop me and continues, "Think of it as a slightly late birthday gift."

I grumble because I can't argue against the logic of that. Granny scoops Jolt up and starts heading into the yard. "Now, why don't the three of you let your Pokémon out for some exercise, and then go see if Gramps needs any help fixing supper. I'll get to work on getting this sparker ready for battle. By the morning she should be at least level fifteen. Tell Gramps that I'll be in in a few minutes." She looks at us. "Well, let 'em out!"

"Oh, is it really all right if I let them ALL out?" Jen shifts her feet uneasily.

"Are they overly large? No? Then let the creatures out. You too boy. And tell me their names!"

Tim smiles and lets his three out immediately. "My Tepig is named Blaze, Lylo is my Lillipup, and Braveheart is the Braviary."

Jen releases six different Pokémon. "These are my girls. The Vulpix is Saliperia- Sally- the Dratini is Kyliamona- Kyli- the Riolu is Emilionia- Emi- Froslass's nickname is Aleyandria- Alley- my Audino's name is Ylvyna, or Ilvi, and finally, my Deerling Vyliala- Vili."

Granny is staring at Jen, muttering the names till she had them straight. "Got it. Sophie?"

"You already know all my other Eevees. Avon, Dusk, and Dawn. Jolt is the only new one." I release the other three as I talk. They run up to Granny, eager to finally meet her face to face.

After watching Granny settle the Pokémon for a few moments, the three of us headed in to help Gramps fix the food for everyone. Once Granny came in, after feeding all the Pokémon currently the couple was currently looking after. Just before the Daycare closed for the day, the teen from earlier rushed in with just enough money to retrieve his Pokémon, which turned out to be a Cinccino. After he left, thanking the couple for looking after his Pokémon, they locked up and the five of us sat down to eat. I spent the next two hours telling the old folks what had happened on my journey so far in detail. I left out a few things, like falling off the ledge and nearly getting hurt during the Gym Battle, but told them everything else. Once my Xtransceiver was fully charged, I called home and told the story all over again. My family made me promise to charge my communication device each and every time I was at a Poke Center. I was finally able to sleep after I said goodnight to everyone back at home.

**Author's Note: Hey people. I give. I am returning to posting the chapters as soon as I write them. If I wait for reviews it could be weeks between updates. Sadly, this story just is not getting many reviews. Or faves. Or follows. *Sighs* (Feeling a bit unloved.) I decided to divide Route 3 into at least two parts. Depending on whether or not Sophie decides to visit Wellspring Cave will decide if it gets divided into three. Opinions? I have already written the beginning of the next chapter.**

**Thought I should let anyone following this story know: I am planning a sequel. Three of them. And then I also plan on writing backstories for the characters that I deem need it. This story has spawned a whole universe. I don't know if you should beware or be excited. Well, you're warned.**

**I prefer to post a new chapter after I get at least ONE review, but I will post when I finish it.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	13. Chapter 10 Route 3 Part Two

**Chapter 10: Route 3 Part Two**

I woke up early to a gray winter morning. The sun was barely peeking over the glimpse of the horizon that I could see through all of the trees. I went to check on the Pokémon just to find Granny already there putting them through some last minute paces. Jolt was so focused on her training that Granny noticed me watching first.

She grinned and set the Pokémon to stretching out their muscles and getting some more rest before [the others and I] left later in the morning. She came over and gave me a hug.

"Once you finish getting all of the Badges, you make sure to come and spend a few days with us. We have a few tricks we want to teach you."

"Okay, Granny. I was planning on it whether you wanted me to come or not."

"Cheeky. Oh, your Xtransceiver was ringing earlier. You might want to check it. Then wake up your companions for breakfast."

"How much earlier was it going off?"

"About an hour ago. I was already up feeding the Pokémon."

"Thanks." I turn and head back to where my Xtransceiver was charging in the guest room. Tim and Jen were still sleeping soundly. I noticed that Ylvyna had come in to rest by Jen after all the training she had gone through. I then noticed that Lylo had done the same and quietly burst into giggles. As I checked my Xtransceiver I mumbled, "Who would be calling me this early in the morning? Oh."

I quickly call the number back and when it is answered I hold a finger to my lips in hopes that he will greet me more quietly than he usually does.

"Hey, Sophie. Where you at that you have to talk so quietly?"

"My friends are still sleeping. Felix, you do realize what time it is over here, right?"

The man, Felix thinks for a moment, then grimaces. "Right, sorry. Forgot about the time difference between Unova and Kanto. I was talking to Tristan yesterday and he told me that you had finally started your journey. I wanted to call and congratulate you then but I had to get to work. When I finally got the time to call, I totally forgot to account for the time zones. Now who's this little one?"

As Felix was talking, Jolt had crept into the room and into my lap. She now had her head tilted as she examined the man on my screen. Felix smiled at her and waved his long braid across the screen, attempting to entice her to chase it.

I grab hold of Jolt before she can try. "This is Joltlace, my newest Pokémon. She only evolved yesterday and doesn't really have control of all her sparks yet, so please don't try to get her to bat at my Xtransceiver. I don't want it to get damaged. Tristan would panic. Again."

"Sorry, sorry- wait again?"

"My batteries died."

Felix burst out laughing. "Oh, I bet that when you finally called, he was completely frantic. It's so funny that the calm and collected kid I travelled with all those years ago can get so freaked when it comes to his kid sister."

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Need I remind you how you acted on the one camping trip you went on with Tristan and me?"

I grin as a blush spreads across his cheeks as he splutters.

"You fell out of a tree! I think I am allowed to get a little worried when that happens!" He takes a few deep breaths and gives me a serious look. "You haven't had any more falls have you?"

"Noooo..."

"Good grief, girl. What is with you and falling? Are you okay?"

"Yes. I was caught before I hit the ground."

"What did you fall from?"

"A ledge on Route 2."

"A...ledge? Sophie..."

"Alright, alright. But you can't tell Tristan! I had a battle on a ledge and the loser accidently pushed me off. He didn't mean to!"

"His name?"

"Didn't give it. He thought that names didn't matter in battles."

Felix sighs. "Da- Drat. You haven't told Tristan?"

"I don't plan to. I am not about to have him go chasing after a boy who lost his temper."

"Alright. I won't tell Tris. But if someone else tries to hurt you, get their name and give it to me."

"You do realize that this is not making you seem less protective than Tris-nii, right Felix-nii?"

"At least I wait until after. Tristan will go ballistic if someone even hints at hurting you."

I give Felix a flat stare. "Yeah, you're just trying to make excuses now. I have to go, we're going to be covering the rest of Route 3 today and I need to get ready to go."

"Fine. Be careful and safe. Love ya, Little Sophie. Bye."

"Love you too, Felix-nii. I call and give you an update, okay?"

"Good."

"Bye-bye!"

"Bye."

I end the call and look around. Tim is sitting with one of his confused looks on his face, though it had a hint of curiosity. Jen was rubbing her eyes, trying to rid them of sleep.

Tim finally gave in to his curiosity. "Who was that?"

"That was Felix. He's Tristan's good friend and pretty much another big brother to me. He's lives in Kanto, so we don't actually get to see him that often, but he calls every chance he gets, even if it's in the middle of the night. Sorry for waking you guys up."

"Is fine. We needed to get up soon anyway, right?" Jen mumbled, obviously still half asleep.

"Yeah. And if you don't get a chance to talk with him much, then it's okay." Tim looks down at his lap. "Wha- Lylo? Why are you here?"

"Ylvyna and Lylo came in here after Granny finished their training."

"Eh? You mean she trained ours as well as yours?!" Jen was suddenly wide awake.

"Yeah. Don't worry. I doubt they'll accept any money from you guys. They're stubborn like that. Come on. We might as well go see if breakfast is ready. And don't let the Pokémon fool you. They've already been fed." I moved to stand up and Jolt jumped out of my lap. She pattered over to investigate my Xtransceiver while I gathered my things together.

Tim quickly left the room and went to the bathroom to get dressed. While he was gone Jen and I used the room to change. Once all three of us were dressed and packed we went to the dining room.

Gramps already had breakfast on the table ready for us. Granny was sitting on the porch outside the sliding doors with a cup of tea.

As we entered, they both greeted us and told us to eat. When Jen mentioned paying for the training, Granny hit upside the head.

"It's all a part of Sophie's present, so think nothing of it. Now, when you leave, are you three going to visit Wellspring Cave?"

I glance at the other two. Jen looked intrigued.

Tim shrugged. "When I visited before, there didn't seem to be much there. I'm leaving it up to Sophie to decide our route. That okay with you Jen?"

"Sure! I think that having Sophie lead us with be great!" Jen practically bounced in her seat with excitement.

I groaned and rested my head on the table. "Great. Way to lay on the pressure guys."

We finish breakfast, laughing and joking through it all. Soon enough, we are out in the Daycare's training yard to gather our Pokémon. As Jen gathered the rest of her six up, and Tim returned his other two to their poke balls, I looked for the other three Eevees.

I finally located Dawn after five minutes of looking. She was sitting still as a rock, which was worrisome because she is usually bouncing off the walls in the morning. When I called to her she jumped like she hadn't noticed anything. As I looked into her face, she seemed to be in complete shock. I started to get really worried, as I still hadn't located Avon or Dusk.

Dawn seemed to finally shake her surprise and started pulling me in one direction. Hoping that she would lead me to the others, I eagerly followed.

When we finally reached where she was going, I saw Avon and ran to him. His eyes were frozen on one spot, and he too seemed to be in shock. At first I thought he was silent, but then I noticed that there was one word that was so quiet it was almost silent. When I finally heard what it was, my head whipped around and stared in the same direction as Avon.

Tim came around the corner. "Sophie? Is everything alright?"

Though Tim couldn't hear it, both Avon and I answered at the same time.

"_Egg..._"

**Author's Note: Hello. It's been FOREVER! Like, two whole hours! **

**Sorry had to do that. Decided to separate Route 3 into at least three chapters. I still haven't decided whether or not to have the three Trainers (From here on referred to as The Group in my Author's Notes.) visit Wellspring Cave. I need help to make the decision.**

**About Felix: in case you didn't catch it, Felix travelled with Sophie's big brother Tristan on his journey to Championship. I decided to introduce him hear, cause it just worked. And then it flowed to the ending.**

**This chapter and the previous are shorter than my other recent ones. Hopefully I will remedy that with the next one. I am working on part three, but until I can decide about the cave, it will not be done. So help me out and give your opinion in a review.**

**I hope to hear from you soon.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	14. Chapter 11 Route 3 Part 3

**Chapter 11: Route 3 Part Three**

Everyone was staring at the same spot. What we were staring at was both shocking and utterly adorable.

Dusk was sleeping soundly, curled around an object and completely at ease.

The object was an Egg.

Dusklace's FIRST Egg.

Avon and Dusk's first child.

Finally, Granny came up and shook me in attempt to get me out of my shock.

"You weren't expecting this?"

Avon was still sitting just in front of me and together we shook our heads.

"Sophie, talk to me girl."

I tear my eyes away from the sight and look at Granny.

"I knew they were in love, but I wasn't expecting an Egg so soon."

"It would seem Avon didn't either. Do either of you NOT want the Egg?"

I recoil from her at the suggestion. Avon Jumps up and runs over to stand between Granny and the egg, glaring at her. She nods her head, smiling, accepting the actions instead of words.

"Well then. Hurry up and wake Dusk up so that she can see the surprise herself. It wasn't there when I fed the critters earlier so she too will be shocked. Let her be shocked in her poke ball or in your arms. You need to not waste any more of the daylight. It will take you most of it to get to Nacrene City."

I manage to move over to Dusk and shake her gently. Once she finally opens her eyes, she looks around and notices that everyone is looking at something near her. When she turns and sees the Egg she is suddenly on her feet sniffing and staring at it.

_Is it...mine?!_

"Yes, it's yours little one." Granny understands what Dusk is thinking, having seen the same expression on other first time mothers.

Dusk is unsteady on her feet, but the joy pouring off of her can be felt by everyone present.

"Dusk, we're ready to go. I'm going to put the Egg in one of my pouches and I think I'll carry you today. Dawn, Avon why don't you guys stay in your poke balls unless we have to battle? You too, Jolt."

The three Eevees nod and vanish into their balls. I quickly settle the egg and scoop Dusk up. I turn and see Jen with a concerned look on her face.

"Jen?"

"I'm just wondering if it will be safe for you to have Dusk out. She's a Shiny so she might draw attention that is better avoided. Someone might want to try to steal her."

"Oh. We came up with a trick to help avoid that."

"A trick?"

"Dawn, can you come back out? We nearly forgot, thanks Jen."

Dawn pops back out and the stares at Dusk, concentrating. Suddenly, the blue rings on Dusk's fur turn to the yellow seen on most Umbreons.

Jen gives a squeak of surprise, causing me to smile. "Dawn can change the rings to any color she wants. I still haven't figures out just how it works, but it does. Does it put you a little more at ease, Jen?"

"That's incredible! Is it just the rings, or can she completely change the color?"

"We've never tried more than the rings, and she can't do it during a battle. Thanks Dawn."

Dawn disappeared back into her poke ball and Dusk settled down in my arms.

Jen, Tim and I were walked to the front of the Daycare by Granny and Gramps, given hugs and shooed on our way. As we continued down the path I considered the Wellspring Cave. I could not see any major reasons why I should go to see it at this point in time. I continue to think for a while and we walk along the path in a nice companionable silence. An hour passed rather quickly, as on the path there was little chance of encountering wild Pokémon. We neared the fork in the path, one direction heading towards the cave, the other to the next city.

I stopped and turned to Jen and Tim. "I don't really see a reason for going to the cave. Do either of you mind if we just continue on to the next city?"

"I can always come visit another time!" Jen, well, Jen chirped. I blink, rather startled.

Tim gives her an odd look. "Did you just chirp? Like, actually chirp? I thought that was just a figure of speech, not that people were actually able to sound like that while speaking."

Jen just grins at us. "I have mastered the art of surprising people. I-"

Suddenly, we hear voices coming from the trail leading to the Wellspring Cave. As we turn to see who is coming and there is a couple of people dressed in the most absurd outfits that any of the three of us had ever seen. With the letter 'P' featured predominately on their odd, hooded tunic-like clothes.

As mad giggles threatened to escape us, the chattering pair spotted us, and their whole demeanor changed.

One of them, the male, grinned and spoke to his partner in a voice just loud enough for them to hear. "Hey, that looks like a group of Trainers imprisoning their Pokémon."

She smirked at him. "Don't you think that we should liberate those poor, poor things?"

"Of course. After we have used them to help Lord N."

"After."

Together they advance on us with smiles that had sharp, malicious edges.

I raise my eyebrow at them and turn towards Tim and Jen. "My Pokémon are rather...unsettled, after this morning's events."

Jen's smile, that had been so sweet since we met, swiftly turned into a grin with a slightly dangerous edge. "I'll take one you take the other?" She turned and directed the question at Tim.

Tim gave an answering grin, though one with a few degrees less of danger and more genuine anticipation. "I think I can handle that."

When the two came close enough to us, the yelled- in a way that we assumed was their way to start their battles.

"For the glory of Team Plasma!"

I had stepped back, to indicate that I was not going to be battling them, and at the cliché phrase and the fact that they were a part of a 'Team', the term that throughout the world meant that they were a criminal organization, I was unable to hold back a groan.

If I was correct in my assumptions, then they were probably not of higher rank than the most common rank in these organizations. The rank of grunts, and if so, then this battle would really just be easy money.

As soon as they released their Pokémon for the battle, my assumptions were all but confirmed. The two Patrats paced as they waited for their opponents to be released as well.

"Come on out, Emilionia!" Jen quickly sent out her Riolu, who bounced as she landed- eager for the coming events.

"Let's go, Blaze." Tim's Tepig appeared with a small snort of fire.

"PATRAT! Use Bite on that Tepig!" The female grunt yelled her order so loudly that Dusk and I flinched.

The male quickly followed with his order at a slightly lower volume. "Patrat, use bide!"

Jen rolls her eyes. "Emi, just use Quick-Attack on her Patrat."

"Blaze dodge the Bite and use Tail Whip." Tim smoothly ordered.

A flurry of movement occurred as the Pokémon rushed to obey their individual orders. The male's Patrat settled a little, preparing to gather the energy of any attacks that came its way. The female's tried to rush forward to Bite Blaze, but Emi quickly rushed in and landed a blow, causing the Patrat to have to reorient itself before it continued on its way to Blaze. Blaze dodged the rather clumsy attack and whipped his curly tail around, lowering the defenses of the Patrats.

The female's expression became a snarl, as she shouted at her Pokémon its next order. "Use Tackle, you pathetic Pokémon!"

"Emi, use Force Palm on it. Put it out of its misery." Jen's face was clenching at the way that the female had referred to her Pokémon. Emi nodded her acknowledgement of the order and waited for the rest to be given.

Tim glanced at his Tepig and nodded. "Use Tail Whip again."

Blaze whipped his tail around again as the Patrat tried to decide which of its two opponents to tackle because the its 'Trainer' had not specified. Emi took this opportunity to attack. With her higher level and type advantage powering the attack up, the Patrat just dropped. The other Patrat continued to try to gather some energy, but none was coming its way.

The female 'Trainer' screeched in frustration as her Patrat automatically returned to its poke ball. Her companion rolled his eyes at her antics. He did not seem all that concerned that they were starting to lose. As it was time for his Patrat to release the energy it had gathered, he still did not have to give an order beyond telling it to focus on the Tepig.

"Emi use Force palm again!" Jen quickly threw her order out.

Tim sent a grin to Blaze. "Use Flame Charge."

Blaze a happy little snort in response to the order and quickly charged the Patrat. As he charged flames began to circle around him until Blaze was completely covered in them. After Blaze tackled the Patrat, it tried to release its energy, but there was none to release. Emi had rushed in behind Blaze and hit the Patrat after its failed attack. With the combination of the Patrat's lowered defenses and the strength of the attacks, it fainted.

Blaze and Emi both strolled back to their Trainers, contentment at a job well done covering their faces.

"Good job Emi! Why don't you get some rest?" Jen was bouncing on her feet. The Riolu nodded and returned to her poke ball.

Tim squatted so that he was closer to Blaze's eye-level. "Good job, buddy. How-"

Before Tim could continue, a light began to swirl around Blaze, similar to the light we had seen just the day before. Tim quickly got out his Pokédex to check something. Once the light settled again, Blaze stood before us as a newly evolved Pignite.

Tim smiled. "Congrats, buddy. You reached level 17!"

"Ugh. Here take your stupid money. We're out of here!" The male 'Trainer' did not seem to like that we were ignoring them.

"Oh, wait! I have a few questions!" I quickly call after them.

"What?" The female snarled back at us.

"What is the goal of your Team?"

"We are going to liberate Pokémon from all Trainers! We will use the Legendary Pokémon Zekrom once our Leader, Lord N has won its respect!" She declared with her head raised high.

The three of us just stare at her for a moment.

Jen tilts her head to the side. "So, basically you're trying to take over Unova."

"Yeah. Basically. You going to do something about it?" The man challenged us with his eyes.

"Not unless you choose to involve me in it. These two? It's up to them. But leave me alone and I will do likewise." I stare at the two Grunts. Then I give them a chilling smile. I knew it was effective when the pair shuddered.

Without another word, they fled back the way they had come. I turned to Tim and Jen. "What?"

"You take the term 'cold smile' to a new level." Jen seemed to be reconsidering me.

"That was colder than the smile of a Cloyster. Very impressive." Tim looked up at the sky for a little while. "Why aren't you going to get involved? I mean, they are trying to take over Unova."

I look down at Dusk resting in my arms and give her a little grin. "Because I'm not following in my brother's footsteps."

With that I dash off down the path towards Nacrene.

**xXxXxXx**

When Jen and Tim catch up with me a few minutes later, they are too out of breathe to ask me what I meant. We walked in silence for a while so that Tim and Jen could catch their breath.

Suddenly, my Xtransceiver rang. When I looked to see who it was, I answered, confused.

"Felix-nii? What's up? You just called me this morning."

"Hey, Sophie. I just heard some things that I thought you should be aware of. So I called. Bad time?"

"No. But does what you heard have something to do with a new Team cropping up in Unova?"

Felix grimaced. "Shi-Shoot, I was saying shoot! Have they approached you?"

"They tried to take our Pokémon."

"Our?"

"Oh. Felix this is Tim and Jen. They're traveling with me." I angle the screen so that Tim and Jen can be seen. They wave hello. "This is Felix Marshal. He's like a big brother to me."

"Two people traveling with you already? Well, you've beaten Tristan already. Good for you. Now, the Team tried to take your Pokémon?" Anger flashed into his eyes. He gives me a raised brow. "These guys seem like their actually gonna be trouble? Or like they just need to be put out of their misery?"

"Okay, okay, okay! I am completely confused! First, Sophie, what did you mean about not following in your brother's footsteps? Second, what do you mean Sophie beat her brother? And third, put out of their misery?" Tim interrupted.

Felix burst out laughing. When he finally managed to get himself under control, he replied. "The answer to the first two is the same. Sophie doesn't want to go on the same kind of journey that Tristan did. Their end goal is the same but not the journey. Tristan dealt with a Team during his journey. So, she doesn't want to."

"And the last bit?" Jen leans forward, every line showing curiosity.

"The Team Tristan dealt with was so pathetic, that really, him taking it out was an act of mercy." Felix's grin was rather evil. "It was fun to help with though. Sophie, if you get into any serious trouble, make sure to call your Tris."

I glare at him. "You're being over protective again. Do you really want me to-"

"No! No, that's okay; you REALLY don't have to do that. You know what? I have get back to work, so...Yeah! Bye Sophie!" Felix quickly ended the call and the screen went black.

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought." I look at my traveling companions and see surprise written across their faces. Before they can ask, I explain. "I have dirt on both of my big brothers. I only use it when they are getting ridiculous about my safety though."

Jen grins. "You have dirt on your brothers? That is awesome."

"Jen, I've been meaning to ask, do you have something against guys?" Tim turns to Jen, slightly worried.

"Hmm? Oh, I'm a fully fledged feminist. There are a few guys that I view as alright, but mostly guys are idiots and jerks. Don't worry; I have the feeling that you will be one of the former." Jen gives Tim a little grin.

Tim relaxed. Then he glanced up at the sky and winced. "We should get going. At this rate, there won't be time for Sophie to have her Gym Battle before dark falls. Come on, let's go!" He starts to push us up the path. I dodge out of the path of his hand. Tim loses balance and tips forward. Jen manages to catch him before he hits the ground.

Laughing, we continue down the path.

**xXxXxXx**

The building that separates Nacrene from Route 3 is in view when a sound is heard from my bag. After a few minutes of searching, I figured out that the sound was coming from my Item Finder.

As we looked at its screen, we saw the bars pointing off the path a bit. Curious, we follow it to a tree. Jen and Tim search around the base of the tree for the hidden item for a few minutes.

For some reason, I decide to look up into the branches. There, up where a branch separated from the trunk, was nestled a candy.

"Hey! I found it! It's up there!" I pointed to the small item.

"Okay... Should I let Braveheart out to get it?" Tim stared where I was pointing.

"No! I have a better idea! Aleyandria!" Jen quickly let out her pretty Froslass. "Could you float up there and get it, Alley?"

Alley nodded and softly floated and retrieved the item, then handed it to me.

I looked at it. It looked like a small candy wrapped in a blue wrapper. "What is it?"

Tim smiles. "It's a Rare Candy. If a Pokémon eats it, it will gain a level. You get to keep it since you were the one who spotted it."

Jen nods in agreement. "As the name suggests, they are really hard to find. I wonder how many people have passed this one by."

"Who knows?" I shrug and tuck the candy into a pocket of my bag. "Come on! Let's get to Nacrene City!"

Quickly, Jen returns Alley to her poke ball and we continue on our way.

**XxXxXxX**

Back where the path split, there is a girl in a big green hat standing with a younger child. Another girl, with a baseball cap, and a boy in glasses run off in the direction of the cave, chasing after some Team Plasma grunts. A while later, the girl in the cap returns and talks to the one in the green hat and the child. The girl in the green hat takes the child away and the other starts going down the path that leads to Nacrene. She decides to let one of her Pokémon, an Oshawott, walk along beside her. They continue walking down the path, relaxed and unhurried, though the small otter Pokémon often dashes off the path to investigate things only it can see.

**XxXxXxX**

**Author's Note: This chapter is 3,004 words long! Not counting this Note. Officially my longest one yet. This chapter took a little while to finish, but considering that I gave you the last to within hours of each other, I do not feel bad. The bit at the end is to show you just where the characters from the game are at. This is really going to be a busy day for Sophie. Next chapter is the second Gym Battle.**

**Yes, they have officially met Plasma. But they are not going to try to take them done. At least, Sophie's not. Meh. More with Felix. He's rather fun for me to write. Tell me what you think of the character developments in this chapter please!**

**Parts of it seemed a bit rushed to me. Did it seem that way to you? Let me know. See you soon?**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	15. Chapter 12 Nacrene City

**Chapter 12- Nacrene City**

**Author's Note: I would like to thank UEG nastykiller. I have been bouncing ideas of them for a while and getting their input. It has really helped me on this chapter especially. So, thank you!**

**xXxXx**

"So this is Nacrene Cit-EEEE!" My words turned into a short squeal as I was suddenly dragged forward.

"Let's hurry to the Poke Center so that our Pokémon can be healed and then we can go to the Gym!" Jen pulled Tim and me forward at a rather frightening speed.

By the time we reached the Poke Center, Tim and I were a little motion sick.

"You two okay?" Jen looked at us leaning against the side of the building with her head tilted.

"Next time...Go slower... Please." Tim managed to huff out after a few minutes.

"Oh. Sorry! I got excited! I want to see Sophie and her little ones battle soon." The grin on Jen's face is full blown.

"Excuse me. That Pokémon in your arms.. She keeps saying the same thing over and over again. Is she alright?" A young man with long, wavy green hair held back in a ponytail and wearing a hat approached them from farther down the rails that bordered the south side of Nacrene City.

"Okay. One: she's fine, just in a bit of shock due to the fact that she is now a mother. Two: saying? Can you understand her?" As I spoke the second point I could feel Tim stiffen beside me and Jen got an intrigued look on her face.

The boy looked into my eyes as he answered. "My name is N. I can understand the speech of all Pokémon."

"N, you say? You wouldn't happen to be involved with a group called Team Plasma, would you?" Tim's face was extremely serious as he spoke.

The green haired boy- N- turned to him. "Yes. I am the king of Team Plasma."

"You're the king? Don't you mean leader?" Jen placed her fist on her hip and raised a brow. "King is a bit pretentious."

"Ghetsis is the leader of the group. I am the king."

"You make no sense. But I'm glad we ran into you. I don't trust those grunts we ran into earlier to deliver my message." I placed a small, most likely a little scary, smile on my face.

N's was obviously confused. "A message? Why would you try to send a message with my people?"

"Because I don't feel like being bothered by you and your people. My message is that as long as you don't bother me, I won't bother you. I will make no guarantees for any other person, but leave me alone and I will do the same."

N considered me. "All you want is to be left alone? Before I promise anything, would you battle me? I want to hear the voices of your Pokémon."

"Nope. I won't battle you. It is unnecessary for me to battle you. But I will let my Pokémon out so that you may speak to them."

"You would let them out even if it is not to battle?"

"You seem shocked. Perhaps you have met some trainers that abuse their Pokémon or perhaps you have met too many Pokémon that have been abused. Don't just assume that all trainers abuse their Pokémon. There are quite a few that see Pokémon as family." Jen ranted at the boy.

"Jen, calm down!" Giggling, I release Dawn and Jolt. "I have one more Pokémon, but he is in even more shock than Dusk, the one in my arms. He's the dad."

"They're...happy with you. Just like hers. I really don't understand." Looking rather lost, N turns and wanders off.

"Rude much?" Jen's fist made its way back to her hip. "That boy really doesn't seem to understand manners."

"I think that he has been raised to see things a certain way. We and someone else are disrupting his view of the world. I wonder how things will turn out..." I returned Dawn and Jolt to their poke balls, assuring Jolt that her first battle will be soon.

"Even though you don't plan to get involved?" Tim looked after N with a small frown on his face.

"Just because I'm not involved doesn't mean I am not concerned with how it all ends." Dusk looks up at me, her finally fully over her shock. "I wonder who the other girl is that is turning his world upside down."

The three of us head into the Poke Center so that Jen and Tim can finally heal their Pokémon.

After we finished up, we left and went around the side of the Poke Center to get to the street behind it faster. Across the street was the Gym. Outside of it was a man in shades. Jen and I looked at him askance. When Tim noticed our looks, he laughed.

"Relax, that's just Clyde. He encourages those challenging the Gyms and aiming for the Championship." Tim nudged us onward. "Though I am beginning to think there are multiple ones because He's ALWAYS at the Gym when you enter. Yesterday was the first time I ever entered a Gym when he wasn't there."

"He was probably getting ready along with everyone else." As we walked over, the man- Clyde- noticed us and coma over.

"Hey Tim! Haven't seen you since Clay's Gym. Thought I would be seeing you at Skyla's next, not back here."

"I decided to go back to the beginning so that I can retrain. This is Sophie. She's challenging the Gyms."

He turns and looks me over. "Oh? So you're the one I missed at Striation. I can tell-"

I hold a finger up to slow him down. "Before you go any farther, let me tell that I do not plan to try for the Championship. I am simply challenging the gyms."

He smirks. "So you see the Gyms as simple, huh?"

"No. I see challenging the Elite Four as complicated." I tilt my head to watch his reaction.

"I see. Well, since I assume that you are going to challenge Lenora, have these Fresh Waters for your Pokémon. I usually only give out one to a challenger, but since I missed your first battle, I'll give you an extra."

"Oh. Thank you." I tuck the two items into my bag.

"Lenora is expecting another couple challengers to come either late today or early tomorrow. The usual trainers have heard that they beat Striation fairly easily- which the three did- and have decided to get some extra training in. I think that there is one trainer in there that doesn't think she needs more training, but I'm not sure."

"I hope that I get one more battle in before I face the Gym Leader. So far I've only had three."

"Waitwaitwait! You've only had three battles? Ever?" Jen looked at me incredulously.

"Tim was my first, there was one on Route 2, and then my first Gym battle."

Clyde shook his head. "If you're that good already then it is a shame that you aren't going for the Championship."

"My brother did that. I am not my brother."

Clyde shrugs his shoulders. "Well, good luck with your battles. I look forward to seeing the results."

He waves us onwards into the Gym. Once we enter the building Jen and I discover that the front part is actually a museum. Tim guides us through to the actual Gym. Which turned out to be a library.

One of the shelves was pushed to the side to uncover hidden staircase. A girl was coming up the stairs as we entered. she quickly noticed us, looked back at the uncovered stairs and shrugged before coming up to speak with us.

"Okay. Which of you is challenging the Gym?" After Tim and Jen pointed at me she continued while focusing on me. "Well then. If you beat me you can go down the stairs and challenge Lenora. But only if you beat me. My name is Carla. Are you ready to begin?"

"Just let me return Dusk to her poke ball." As I returned Dusk, Carla turned and led us to one of the sections of the library that were obviously meant for the battles.

As we caught up with her, she went over to a little pedestal that held a single poke ball. She pressed the release button and out came a Gothita. When the little Pokémon spotted me, she ran over and gave me a huge hug.

Carla looked startled. "I've never seen her do that before."

Giggling, I crouch down and return the hug. "It's been a couple of years since I saw you Thea!" Looking at the other three Trainers, I explained. "Thea was bred by my older brother for Lenora."

"You're older brother? That would make you Saphronia Stone!" Carla squeaked.

"Sophie, please. And it's not like I'm anything special." I stand up and give Thea one last pat on the head. "Shall we get started?"

"Oh. Yes. Of course." Carla quickly heads to the other side of the ring while Jen and Tim head to the spectators' spots and Thea gets into her position.

Carla releases her Pokémon, a Herdier, into its position. I let Jolt out so that she can finally get the battle that she has been wanting. She bounded out of her poke ball so fast that she tumbled head over heels for a moment before stopping and jumping back to her starting position and fidgeting like mad.

(Momma, can I use ThunderShock and then Return? Pleasepleaseplease?) Jolt shouted to me across our link.

I smile and give her a little nod. With the training that Granny gave Jolt, she is more than ready for her first battle. I want to see what kind of strategy my Electric type had come up with.

Suddenly Carla's eyes flashed. "Herdier use Take Down!"

"Jolt, use ThunderShock." I calmly give the requested order and Jolt immediately went on the offensive.

While the Herdier was still preparing to charge, Jolt released a shock that rolled across the ring, but only hit the Herdier thanks to Thea's shields.

After the shock faded, the Herdier tried to charge, but ended up falling down because of its joints being paralyzed.

Carla's eyes widened when she realized what had happened. "Herdier, try to use Bite."

"Jolt, use Return."

The Herdier tried to get up to attack, but was unable to.

Jolt rushed forward and tackled the Herdier with all the strength of the positive feelings she had developed for me in the days since I had received her egg. She and the Herdier go tumbling head over heels until they reach the barrier where they are forced to stop.

Jolt had the Herdier pinned and she gave the other Pokémon a lick on the nose before hopping off and waiting to see the state of the Herdier.

The Herdier struggled to get up and we all could tell that its difficulty was caused by more than the paralysis. It was managing to stay awake, but it was just barely.

"Herdier use Leer." Carla could tell they were beaten, but the rules for Trainer battles clearly stated that the battle wasn't over until one of the Pokémon was completely knocked out.

"Jolt use Tackle." I gave the last order of the battle.

Jolt quickly tackled the Herdier and knocked it out. After it was over Jolt nosed the Herdier to make sure that she hadn't done any permanent damage to it.

Carla scooped her Pokémon up and gave it a once over then looked down at Jolt. "Don't worry. He's fine."

Relieved, Jolt bounded over to me and after receiving some praise, went to rest in her poke ball.

I went up to Carla. "Thank you. I'm glad that Jolt got to fight against you in her first battle."

"That was only her first battle? She's incredible. We didn't even land a hit on her, so you probably won't need to go to the Poke Center before facing Lenora. She's just down the stairs. Good luck!" Carla waved to us after handing me the prize money but before dashing out of the Gym and, presumably, heading to the Poke Center to heal her precious partner.

Thea hopped up and down to get our attention and once she had it she led us down the stairs. Once downstairs, she went and stood in her spot on the ring that resided there.

"Carla? Do you need something else? I-" A dark-skinned woman had her back to us when we entered, stopping her words when she turned and spotted us. "I'm sorry, I thought it was one of my Gym trainers."

I give her a smile. "Carla had to go to the Poke Center after our battle."

"You beat her? Probably for the best. She was getting a little too confident. It does mean that she won't be able to battle the three trainers that are coming later, but oh well. Now, I've already battled one of you, am I battling the other two?"

"No, just Sophie!" Jen chirped. Tim looked at her, clearly wondering just how she managed to do that.

"Sophie? You wouldn't happen to be the little sister of Tristan, would you?" Lenora crouched down to get a better look at me. "My, you've grown. I last saw you a couple of years ago when I went to get Thea."

"I remember! I actually haven't grown all that much though." I made a face. "I don't seem to be growing very fast at all."

"Don't rush yourself girl." Lenora stood back up and went to the other end of the ring. "Shall we get started Sophie? I want to see just what you can do."

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: Sorry it took me so long to get this story out. I was just having so much trouble figuring out how to go about it. Then I decided to have N meet Sophie and it all came pouring out. With UEG nastykiller's input I decided to split the chapter into two, so you will have to wait awhile for the actual Gym battle. One question, should I use White or Hilda or Touko for the game character. You know the one that is going to take Plasma down? I really need input.**

**And yeah, the battle was pretty pathetic. I am sorry.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	16. Special Author Note 3

**Special Author's Note 3:**

This is just another note from me. Hi. It's been awhile since I did one of these.

I am having trouble with the second gym battle. I want the battle to actually be GOOD. I have been getting a lot of feedback about how the battles are not described enough so I am going to go into uber detail this time. Tell me if I over do it, okay?

Plus, I have recently gotten an idea for another Pokémon story. One totally unrelated to this one. Once I iron out more of the details for that I will let you know. I think it is a fun idea, though also rather serious.

Do people like this story? I am an insecure writer- or an insecure puppet controlled by fictional characters, really- who is actually pretty used to being told that her writing sucks. I plan on finishing the story and any others that come after it, but would like to know that others find reading it to be worth their time.

On to other things, the story is nearing Pinwheel Forest. I have a lot planned for this place. It will most likely take place over several chapters, because, hey, it's a forest.

I still need help deciding on which name to use for the in game hero- Hilda, Touko, or White?

Also, if you have any fancy smancy names that you are willing to let me use—put 'em in a review or just pm them to me. Jen will love you!

Sophie and co. will be back next chapter in the ultra battle. Seriously, when you read it, tell me if I should keep doing gym battles this way or if I should figure something else out.

See you then!

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	17. Chapter 13 Second Gym Battle

**Chapter 13: 2nd Gym Battle**

**Author's Note: I have a request for the readers. I need to decide the name of the character that is going to bring Plasma down. Will it be Hilda, Touko, or White? I don't plan on finalizing her name until I reach the Castelia arc. But I do need to help from the readers. Which name will receive the Reader's Choice award? Just pop the name into a review or even a pm for me.**

**xXxXx**

Lenora released her Herdier, who settled down on her paws to wait for the battle to begin. I pretended to consider my poke balls while silently asking which one wanted to go first.

After a little discussion, it was decided that Avon would go out first. The discussion was more of a spat between Jolt and Avon. Finally, I just said that for Gym Battles Avon would always go first. Once it was settled, I released Avon so that we could finally begin.

Lenora smiled and looked over Avon before turning her gaze onto her Herdier and giving the first order. "Herdier, I want you to use Bite. And don't forget to try to dodge their attack."

"Avon, shall we use Echoed Voice? And, of course, dodge the Bite." I call out my order, though it was really more of a request. I had decided early on that I wanted my Eevees to decide for themselves how they wanted to battle.

Avon nodded and let out his echoing cry as the Herdier dashed towards him. Just before she struck, he dodged to the side, causing her to slide harmlessly past. After she had slowed to a stop, she turned. Just as she started to return to her starting position, the echo struck her. She stumbled and fell, unable to stand up again until the echo had faded away completely.

When she finally stood up, Lenora issued her next order. "Herdier use Tackle while dodging their next attack."

"Avon use Sand-Attack to reduce their accuracy and dodge the tackle."

Herdier came charging towards Avon once again, while Avon sweeped some sand up with his tail. Once the Herdier was close enough, Avon used his tail to throw the sand into her face and quickly got out of her path. As the Herdier once again slid harmlessly past, I glanced at Lenora.

(It seems like she is planning a different strategy. We have to be careful.) I thought, sending it along to Avon.

Lenora gave a small smile. "Herdier use Roar."

"Avon, see if you can get an Echoed Voice attack off before the Roar hits you." I say with my hands on my hips. The Eevees and I all greatly dislike that move.

The yip that Avon managed to get out is rather small compared to the large roar that the Herdier emits. Startled, Avon automatically returned to his poke ball and Dawn came out. As Dawn oriented herself, the echo of Avon's last yip crashed down onto the Herdier.

After everything settled, Lenora called out her next order. "Use Take Down on the Espeon, Herdier"

"Dawn, why don't you try out a Psychic on her and dodge the attack?" I suggest to my littlest.

Dawn glances back at me. _I have an idea. May I try it?_

_Of course. Do what you want to._

The Herdier came charging at Dawn. Instead of dodging the oncoming attack, Dawn planted her feet and took it head on. The force of the attack dealt damage to both sides, causing the pokemon to stumble back from each other. Before her weakened opponent could recover from the recoiled, Dawn threw all of the strength she had into her mental attack. The Herdier crumbled under the pressure of the attack, finally giving in to sweet unconsciousness after struggling against it for a few minutes.

Lenora closed her eyes and gave a slight smile. "Good job Herdier. Go ahead and rest. Watchdog, it's your turn to battle."

She released her second pokemon. "Would you like to switch your pokemon out, Sophie?"

I give her a bright smile. "Dawn, let's switch with Dusk."

_Good job._ I sent Dawn as she complied.

_Do you want me to disguise Dusk's rings during her battle?_

_No. Just rest for now. We'll only do that when there are people we don't think should know. Or those that we really don't trust._ I replied.

_Like those two we met on Route 2?_ Dusk threw in.

_We'll continue this talk AFTER the battle, can we?_ Avon piped up from inside his poke ball.

_Can I battle again? PLEAAASE, Mom?_ Jolt called out to me.

Barely holding in my laughter at my Eevees antics, I turned to Lenora. "Ready to continue?"

"Let's finish this." She looked down at her final pokemon. "Attack with Tackle and dodge the coming attack if necessary."

"Dusk, how about we use Return? That sound good?"

Dusk nodded and prepared to attack.

As the pokemon charged each other, Watchdog managed to strike first, throwing Dusk's aim off and causing her to miss.

As the two pokemon spin around to face each other again, Lenora goes ahead and calls out her next orders. "Watchdog, use Hypnosis and then Workup before using Tackle again."

"Dusk, try to dodge and Retaliate each attack you can with Return."

The Hypnosis attack struck home and despite Dusk's efforts, she fell into a deep sleep. While Watchdog work herself up and raised her attack, I began a search for an Awakening in my bag.

By the time I finally found it- I will never let my brother pack my bag for me again, must remember to tell Mommy that- several rounds had passed and at least five tackles hand landed fully on target.

When Dusk was finally awake enough to stand, her footing was shaky and unsure.

_Dusk, do you want me to pull you out?_

_NO! I want to stay in it till the end._

Gritting my teeth, I issued my next order. "Dusk use Sand-Attack."

"Watchdog use Tackle again."

Dusk barely manages to sweep a small amount of sand into the opponent's face before the tackle struck her down. She was unable to get back up.

I scooped her up into my arms and cradled her unconscious form gently. "Jolt, come on out. It's your turn."

Jolt came out of her poke ball, angry sparks jumping through her fur.

"Watchdog, use Crunch."

"Jolt, I think that Retaliate would be a good move to use."

Without waiting for the other to move, Jolt was halfway across the distance that separated them. Before Watchdog could move more than a couple of steps forward, she was bowled over by Jolt's furious attack.

Stumbling back to her feet, Watchdog waited for her next order while Jolt stalked back towards me, fury still sparking low in her fur.

"Jolt use Thunder."

"Watchdog, dodge and use Confuse Ray!"

Jolt's struck before Watchdog could move again, anger giving her extra speed. Thunder rained down on the opponent, filling the confined battle field with Jolt's angry sparks.

Once the attack finished, Watchdog attempted to stand but quickly succumbed to same blissful darkness as her teammate.

Lenora returned Watchdog to her poke ball. "Before you go dashing off to get them healed let me give you the badge you just earned. Congratulations on your win and thank you for such an invigorating battle. Now off to the Poke Center with you!"

I flashed her a quick smile before running out of the Gym and the museum. Jen and Tim followed behind, apologizing to the people that I nearly knocked over in my haste.

**xXxXx**

"Well. You got the Gym badge for this place. Do you want to enter Pinwheel Forest today, or wait until the morning?" Jen asked as we watched Avon give Dusk a thorough looking over after she had been fully healed at the Poke Center. He had been checking over his mate since we had left the Center over half an hour before.

"If we decide to head into the Forest tonight, I might be able to contact my sister and see if she knows a good place for us to camp." Tim piped up from where he sat looking out the window of the cafe where we had gone to get something to eat.

_Sophie! Would you get him to calm down already? I'm fine!_ Dusk turned to me with a plea for help in her eyes.

Laughing, I pick Avon up. "Would you relax already? She's getting annoyed." I glance over at my two human traveling companions. "I was thinking of continuing on to the forest. Is that okay with you two?"

"Yuppers!" Jen chirped as she finished off her food. "Mmmm...That was yummy. I am ready to go whenever you are!"

"Seriously, how do you do that?" Tim asked, looking at Jen sideways. "I stocked up on supplies while the pokemon were getting healed, so I'm ready to go to, but..."

"You have a question about my battle." I guessed, trying to sneakily steal a fry that was left on his plate.

"Yep." He said, swatting my hand away from his plate. "Why did you go for an Awakening that was at the bottom of your bag? Why not grab a berry that was in the outside pocket?"

Drawing my hand back with an expression of utter shock I was able to get Jen to burst out laughing. Avon sat in my lap shaking his head at my antics. When Tim raised one of his eyebrows at my expression, I started giggling and answered his question. "I did it because..." I bit my bottom lip. "Because I can't see how a pokemon that is ASLEEP can eat a berry. It doesn't make any sense. I don't use Cheri berries and Rawst berries for the same reason. If the pokemon is paralyzed or frozen, then just HOW can they swallow? That's why I used the medicines that are sprays." I took a moment to catch my breath and noticed that Jen and Tim were staring at me. Blushing, I look down. "I told you that I take after both my parents. Because of my dad I notice and latch onto the most random things."

"But your randomness makes sense! I know that pokemon can use the berries in those conditions, but now I'm going to be wondering how." Jen stated.

Tim nodded in agreement. "It makes total sense." He finished his last bite of food. "Shall we go ahead and leave?"

Jen stood up and stretched. "I think that I'll go get some of this yummy food to go!"

I look down at Avon and Dusk. _I think that the two of them are weirder than me._

_You only just now realized this?_ Avon tilted his head back to see me as he replied.

_We realized that when we first met them._ Dusk stated, swishing her tail back and forth in amusement.

I quirk an eyebrow at them. _Don't rub it in._

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: I am so sorry that it took me so long to get this battle written and out! It felt like I was pulling teeth to get this out. I don't know why I was having so much trouble.**

**But hey! Pinwheel forest is coming next chapter! And I have plot.**

**In other news, the story idea that I mentioned in my Special note? The Prologue is completely written and proof read. I plan on posting it right after I post this chapter at the earliest, tomorrow morning at the latest. Its title is 'The Silver Silence'. It is rated M because there is mentions of… stuff that definitely isn't K. Sorry, I would give more info but I want you to read it. It is not very explicit at all, it is mainly rated M to be safe. I could probably get away with T but… Tell me what you think when you read it. I am going to categorize it tragedy, but the tragedy is really only in the beginning. Please check the story out when I post it.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters! (And their numbers have grown.)**


	18. Chapter 14 Pinwheel Forest Entrance

**Chapter 14: Pinwheel Forest Entrance**

**Author's Note: I have a request for the readers. I need to decide the name of the character that is going to bring Plasma down. Will it be Hilda, Touko, or White? I don't plan on finalizing her name until I reach the Castelia arc. But I do need to help from the readers. I started a poll on my profile, please go vote. If you do not have an account just pop the name into a review for me. Which name will receive the Reader's Choice award? (I would like even those who already voted in their reviews to vote again, as I am starting the poll over.)**

**xXxXx**

"Pinwheel Forest: straight ahead!" Jen jumped about on the path before us while Tim and I just walked. I had removed my new Egg from the pouch and was cradling it in my arms.

Tim glanced around and pointed towards an opening in the fence that lined the path. "Can we take a short side trip and head through there?"

Jen dashed over to the opening and looked to see what was past it.

I shrugged. "Why not? But is there any reason in particular?"

"You'll see!" Tim led the way into the area.

**xXxXx**

"So this is the famous Challenge Rock." I said, looking up at the huge stone.

"It's famous?" Jen tilted her head to the side. "It's seems like it's just a piece of rock. Why is it famous?"

"I know it's famous locally because if you strike it with a Fighting Type Pokémon then you can get a Star Piece, which are worth a lot of money. I didn't think it was all THAT famous though." Tim frowned and looked at me.

"It's not really. It's just a joke with my brother. He never had a Fighting-Type so he could never get a Star Piece." I grinned as I explained.

"Hmmmm..." Jen reached down and brought out one of her poke balls. "Emilionia!"

Her Riolu appeared and looked around. When she saw there were no opponents for her to fight, she turned to Jen and put her paws on her hips.

"Emi, could you do me a favor?" Jen asked, giggling as the Pokémon glared. "I want to get a Star Piece for Sophie and myself. Feel up to the Challenge Rock?"

The Riolu tensed at the word challenge and turned to look over the stone.

As the Pokémon sized up her target, I turned to Jen. "You don't have to. I don't actually need a Star Piece."

"Yes you do."

"I do?"

"You mentioned how you don't want to be like your brother, right? Well, then you need a Star Piece from this rock."

Tim and I broke down laughing.

From my poke balls, Avon throws in his opinion. _**She's weirder than I thought...How is that possible?**_

I choke on more laughter as Tim gets himself under control.

After the laughter subsided, Tim pulled one of his poke balls out. "Blaze, ready to finally take a swing at the Challenge Rock?"

Blaze leapt out of the poke ball and clear over Emi's head as she returned from the rock. He stuck the rock so exuberantly that chips flew in several directions.

Emi rolled her eyes at the other's enthusiasm. She handed the two Star Pieces over to her trainer and promptly returned to her poke ball.

Jen handed me one of the stones and gave a sad smile. "She's not comfortable being let out for fun. Her previous Trainer was a...not nice person." Her tone was such that it obvious she was making an extreme understatement.

Tim glanced at her. "Did you just self-censor?" He glanced down at his beaming Pokémon. "You want to hold onto that for awhile Blaze?" At the excited look Blaze gave him, he grinned and returned the happy Pokémon to the poke ball.

"Yes. Yes I did." Jen's smile turned into a mischievous grin.

"Oh! We forgot! Tim you have to catch a Tympole!" I suddenly remember. With one hand needed to hold the Egg, I gesture with the one holding my new Star Piece to the grass surrounding us. "Go! Go get a Tympole! Don't take no for an answer!"

"GO! GO!" Jen starts cheering as Tim, laughing, runs off into the grass. She turns and looks at me questioningly. "Why does he need a Tympole?"

"For his team. He wants to become the Champion. I am helping him fashion a team to do that." I shrug my shoulders. "Did you somehow have Emi's name changed before you got her?"

"One, I know you are pretty talented, but are you really qualified to build a Champion's team? And two, yes, it is quite a story. How'd you guess?" Jen sat down to wait for Tim's return.

I plopped down next to her, nestling the Egg in my lap. "I hope you can tell me the story sometime. I just thought that if you needed to censor what you were going to call the previous Trainer, then they would not have given her such a pretty name. But as for my qualification...Does watching the Elite Four spar on a regular basis count as enough?"

"You watch them spar. Often." Jen turns and looks me over. "How do you manage that?"

I lean back against the challenge rock, gently stroking my Egg. "My brother was the previous Champion. As such, the Elite Four often come to visit and spar." I turn my head to face her. "I'm not telling Tim what Pokémon the Four have, just what would be good Pokémon to have in his team."

"Well, that makes sense." We sit in silence for a while. "How long do you think it is going to take Tim?"

"Considering that apparently the last time he was here, they all ran away from him, it might take a while."

"Okay, then. Will you tell me about the Pokémon around here? Any weird things that you have noticed?"

"In other words, you want to hear more of my 'this is weird' rants."

"Yup! Let's start with that Pokémon over there. The one carrying the square log."

"Timburr."

"...There's a lot of Tims around here."

"I noticed that too."

"So, is there anything that you find weird about them?"

I stare at the Pokémon for a few minutes. "The log. They are always carrying square logs. Where do they get them? Why do they carry them? If they're getting them from the forest, then why isn't the forest completely gone? It bothers me. And you are finding this way to amusing."

Jen managed to get the giggles that had started mid-way through my rant under control. "I just find it awesome that you think about such little things. I kinda wish we could ask the Pokémon where they get the logs now." A slightly wistful look crosses her face before disappearing. "Oh! What about that Pokémon there? The small blue one."

"Munchlax. Cute, but not from around here."

"Apatite! Get back here!" The small blue Pokémon turned and jumped up and down when it heard the female voice call out. "Never mind. Apatite, go stand by that big rock and don't move! I'll be there as soon as I can get through these stupid weeds. Dangit, why did I feel the need to doodle in such an annoying area?"

The little Munchlax comes over to where we sat. When he saw my Egg he sat next to me. He started to reach out to touch the Egg, but waited for me to say it was okay. At my nod he gently stroked the Egg while he waited for his Trainer to catch up.

"Oh." I look up to see a girl of around fifteen standing in front of us.

She is about 5' 4" and has short hair that hangs around her ears. Her hair is dyed dark blue and her eyes are such a dark brown that they are almost black. Her skin was tan from what seemed to be a lot of travel. She is wearing a loose midnight blue t-shirt, devoid of any designs, loose, light blue cargo jeans, and worn blue tennis shoes with a worn blue back pack slung over her back. On her left arm was a denim armband with a blue stone attached to it. She was carrying a sketchbook.

"Apatite! I'm sorry-" She started to speak.

"It's okay! It's okay! Your little one asked for permission before he touched the Egg!" Jen waved away the girl's attempt at apologizing. "I'm Jen and this is Sophie."

The girl looked us over. "Tourmaline. I just hope that you two aren't the type of Trainers that insist on battling every Trainer they meet."

"I'd rather not have another battle today." I smiled up at her. "Tourmaline, is that also the name of the stone on your wristband?"

Surprise flickers over her face. "Yeah, it is. I'm surprised you noticed that."

"Sophie notice all sort of little things!" Jen motions at the ground in front of us. "Why don't you sit down? We'll be here for a while and your little Munchlax, Apatite? He seems quite content to pet the Egg. It's so cute!"

Tourmaline sat down and looked at her Pokémon. "He loves Eggs. But usually Trainers won't let him anywhere near them, afraid that he's gonna hurt 'em or something." She looks at me. "Why were you okay with it?"

I smile at her. "I'm training to be a Breeder. I come from a family of Breeders who own a ranch. I'm can tell when a Pokémon is going to harm an Egg. Apatite quite clearly only wanted to admire my Egg. Now if the Egg's parents said they didn't want him touching, then I wouldn't have let him."

"You talk as if you can understand your Pokémon." Tourmaline gave me a scrutinizing look.

"Only because I have a Psychic type that translates for me." Though my smile never falters as I hide my abilities, I am not sure that Tourmaline completely believes me.

Before we can talk about anything else, we hear a triumphant shout.

"I did it!"

Tim comes running up, completely out of breathe. Panting, he holds up a poke ball. "I...finally...managed to...catch a Tympole!"

"Congratulations! Have you decided what to name it?" I make grabby hands at him. "I want to see!"

Breathlessly laughing, he lets the newly caught Pokémon out. "No, I haven't decided on his name yet."

"Hey, little guy, want some berries?" Jen held a handful of Oran berries out to the small Pokémon. "You should call him Mit."

"Why Mit?" I shoot a glance her way.

"Because it's Tim backwards." She remained focused on the Pokémon as he munched happily on the berries.

As he regained his energy, the Tympole started to hop up and down.

Tourmaline watched for a few seconds. "He's a little hopper ain't he?"

"Hopper! That's it!" Tim knelt down next to the Pokémon. "How do you like the name Hopper?"

Hopper jumped up and down with happiness over his new name.

Tim turned to Tourmaline. "Thanks. I was pretty stumped on what would be a good name. I'm Tim by the way."

"Well, that explains why Jen was talking about Tim backwards. Tourmaline." She shakes hands with Tim before glancing over to the forest. "I suppose I should be getting through there."

"Oh, you're heading through the forest as well?" I hand Jen the Egg while I stand up and brush the dirt off my clothes.

"If there's a way for you to bypass the forest, I suggest you take it. I can't find the way through to save my life. And the road? There are some weirdly dressed people hanging out on it." Tourmaline made a face as she considered the forest.

"It's not that bad." Tim protested.

"Yeah." Jen agreed with Tim, both of them looking rather confused over the girl's dislike of the forest.

"Have both of you been through it?" Tourmaline asked.

They both nodded.

"Jen, how many times did you get lost?" I piped up.

"Umm..." Jen's blush answered the question.

"And Tim, you probably had your sister's help, right?"

"Well, yeah. But that's what the Rangers are in the forest for." Tim looks over at Tourmaline. "My sister is a Ranger-in-Training and she should be back at work. If you want, I can introduce you to her. She knows the forest better than even her mentor. She may decide that it's easier to just lead all of us through as one group though."

Tourmaline was silent, considering the offer. She gave Tim a look over while fingering something hidden by her shirt. "Alright. That would be a big help. My Pokémon are getting sick of me wandering in circles."

"I wonder if there are Rangers who could lead us through the city." I mumbled to the Egg in my arms. The other three Trainers glance at me, not fully catching what I had said. I look up with a bright smile. "Well, shall we get going? And Tim, shouldn't you call Maria?"

"Oh! Right! Hopper, do you want to stay out and walk with us for now?" The small Pokémon happily bumped against his leg as he pulled out his Xtransceiver. "Alrighty then. Hey, Maria! Guess where I am?"

"Pinwheel Forest. I'll be at the entrance in five minutes. Meet me there." And the call ended.

We stood and blinked for a few seconds of silence. Then the four of us and the Pokémon started running to the entrance so as to make it in five minutes.

A grin spread across my face. "This is gonna be fun."

"I regret greatly introducing you to my family. I may just fly over the forest and meet you all at Castelia." Tim grimaces, remembering how well Maria and I had gotten along.

"Wait, you can fly there? May I ask why you are bothering to walk through the forest at all?" Tourmaline confusion was clear in her voice.

"Because there is something I need to see in the forest and my brother kinda tricked Tim into keeping an eye on me." I jokingly explain.

"I am not keeping an eye on you!" Tim protested.

Tourmaline glanced down at me. "I think she meant that part as a joke, boy. By the way, just how old are you kid? You look like you're five, but you act like you're around fifteen."

"I'm ten."

"You are really mature for your age."

"Thanks. By the way, do you mind if I call you T? Tourmaline is kind of a mouthful."

"Sure, whatever."

We reach the entrance to the forest and catch our breath.

Jen stares at me. "Wait, I'm confused."

I tilt my head to look up at her; swiftly running my hands over the Egg to make sure it is all right. "About what?"

"Do you really look like you're five? Cause I always thought that you were ten."

_**WEIRD!**_ My three oldest Eevees yell from their poke balls as I break down laughing.

"Jen, you are the first person to EVER get my age right the first time. Even my family acknowledges that I look young for my age. Of course, they all look younger than they are as well." I manage to get out after getting my laughter under control.

"I know that I would have assumed she was five if I hadn't asked her age." A voice speaks from the entrance. Maria Adams steps forward into the sunlight, wearing her official Ranger uniform. "You trying to start a harem Tim?"

"Maria!" Tim shouted, blushing furiously.

"Maria! Maria, look! It's Avon and Dusk's first Egg!" I carefully hold the Egg out so that she could see. "We found it this morning!"

"Congratulations! Now, come on. We need to get to where my mentor is." She quickly led us into Pinwheel Forest. "By the way Sophie, you're still helping Tim pick his team right?"

"Yup! He just got his fourth Pokémon for the team."

"Would a Deino by a good choice for the team?"

"Yeah. I was planning on having him add one to the team, but their territory is much closer to the Elite Four, so it would be awhile."

"Great!" Maria stood around and shoved a poke ball at her brother. "He can take this pest off my hands then. He's a Deino that was released into this forest. He has been setting all the trees on fire and the Panpours have been forced to work so much that they are all exhausted. I had to catch him just to stop the fires. Please. Just get him out of the forest." She took a deep breath. "His name is Ramoth, by the way."

She turned and continued leading us further in.

Tim stood for a moment stunned by what had just happened. "I'm going to owe her for this, aren't I?"

"It sounded more like she would owe you." Jen replied. Tourmaline nodded her agreement.

"You are totally going to owe her." I walked past him to catch up with Maria.

"That's what I thought." Tim sighed.

As the others caught up, Tourmaline spoke up. "Wait, why would he owe her, if it is beneficial to her that he takes the Pokémon?"

"One, because I am his older sister and two, because the Pokémon is going to help him become Champion." Maria replied without even glancing back.

"And you also gave it a cool name." I threw in.

"Yup. He probably would have called it Blacky or something."

"I would not have!" Tim protested then sighed. "The two of you are ganging up on me. That's not fair."

"It's completely fair, Tim. They're girls, they can do that." A voice called from up ahead.

A man in the male Ranger uniform stood with his rope hooked over his pouch. The way his hand rested over his pouch seemed protective, like he had something important in it.

"It's been awhile, Ranger Lumtol. It's good to see you again." Time greeted the man.

"You too. I wish I could help Maria take you through the forest, but there seems to be trouble on the road and I want to check on whether they need help or not. But first!" Lumtol turned towards us girls. "What are your names girls?"

"This is Sophie, I'm Jen, and this is Tourmaline!" Jen said in her chirping voice.

The two Rangers stared at her for a minute before Maria finally turned to her brother and pointed at Jen.

Before a word left her open mouth, Tim answered her question. "Yes, Jen really did just chirp."

Lumtol plastered a smile across his face. "Okay then! Nice to meet you all. You kids be careful. The forest has many hidden dangers." He put a hand on Maria's shoulder. "You have what you need, right?"

"Yup. Go take care of the road. I'll keep an eye on the forest and call you if I need back up." Maria sent him on his way with a grin.

"Oh! One last thing. Tim, Ramoth seems to favor using Incinerate. Be careful with him." Lumtol threw over his shoulder as he left.

Tim looked at the poke ball he still held in his hand. "Oh boy. This guy's going to be trouble."

His sister grinned. "Most likely. Come on. It's getting late and I know a good place to set up camp."

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: The Rant about Timburr was totally not my fault! Blame it all on my Beta Reader! He planted the idea! I would like to thank him for the help he gave figuring out Lumtol's name as well of all the other stuff. My Beta Reader is awesome. Thank you for your help MorohtarSingod! I will be working on the next chapter as a birthday present for my Beta reader, so it will also be up as soon as it can be Beta'd. Then I will be writing 'The Silver Silence' next, unless inspiration strikes for my Sherlock story. Or my third Pokémon story. Whichever story inspiration decides to fuel first. Tell me what you think of this chapter!**

**I am not a writer! I am puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	19. Chapter 15 Pinwheel Forest

**Chapter 15 Pinwheel Forest**

**Remember! Go vote in my poll for the name! Vote vote vote!**

**Decided I ought to start doing this:**

_**Eevees/Sophie speaking to each other**_

_Psychic speaking_

_Singing_

**xXxXx- Time jump or simple line break**

**XxXxX- point of view change**

**And now on with the story.**

**xXxXx**

"Alright! This is the camp site. Jen, Tim, you two help me set up the tents. Tourmaline, Sophie, can the two of you gather some sticks for the fire? Just get the ones that are already on the ground, no need to break any off of the trees." Maria said, already pulling three tents out from behind some bushes that lined the clearing she had led us to. "We have tents stashed all around the forest for Trainers to use. Tim gets his own cause he's the only boy here. We can figure out which of us girls are staying with which later. Let's get to work!"

Tim and Jen each grabbed a tent and started setting them up, Hopper attempting to help his new Trainer.

"Alley!" Jen called out her Ghost and Ice-type Pokémon. "Can you help me here? I need another set of hands and I don't think Emi would like to be called out for something other than an actual battle."

The Froslass gently bumped against Jen's head before going to help with the other end of the tent.

Tourmaline tapped my shoulder. "You might want to put the Egg in one of your pouches. We don't want it damaged." She looked down at her Munchlax. "Apatite, want to help us gather sticks?"

Apatite smiled up at his Trainer and held his arms above his head.

I looked at Apatite as I carefully put the Egg away. "You know, I really feel short when what is considered a baby Pokémon is nearly as tall as me." I glance over at Aleyandria. "And Alley IS taller than me." Sighing, I start to walk into the forest surrounding the clearing. "I feel short."

"You are short, kid." Tourmaline said as she walked with me.

"I know." I start gathering sticks for the small fire that we were going to use to warm some food up for our supper.

"Trying to not develop a complex about it?" Tourmaline knelt down and handed sticks to Apatite to hold.

"Yeah..."

"Well, it's obvious that you are probably gonna be short for a while. I'm glad you're trying to get past it now." She stands up and moves farther on.

I hear a soft thud and look to see what fell. An object sat on the ground that Tourmaline had just vacated.

I go over and pick it up. A poke ball on a chain rests in my hands. Looking a little closer, I realize that it is occupied by a Pokémon.

_**Mommy...It's a Mew.**_ Avon's observation came to me quietly, as if he was whispering.

_Please...Please don't say anything to anyone! Tourmaline is helping me keep away from some bad people!_ A small voice I did not know pleaded.

Tentatively , I reached out with my mind. _Are...Are you Mew?_

_Yes. Please. Return me to Tourmaline!_

_Of course._

"T!" I run to catch up to the older girl. "You dropped something! Here."

When she saw what I had, her hand flew to her throat while her eyes widened in panic. She quickly retrieves Mew from my hand. "Thanks...Uh...umm..."

Before she manages to gather her thoughts, I am walking back to the pile of sticks I had gathered. "I think we have enough now. Let's start heading back."

Once she had caught up to me, I continued talking. "I know that there is a good place to have chains fixed in Castelia. I'm planning to go there to see if I can find a collar for Jolt. They can probably fix it so that chain doesn't break again. Want to come with me?"

Tourmaline freezes, confusion taking over her face. "You...aren't going to ask?"

"I was told that you were helping. If you want to tell me the story, I'll listen, but I am not going to demand to know." I turn to face her with a smile, tension keeping my shoulders high. "I will say that I am curious. But if you answer me a few questions now, then I'll drop it. And I don't plan on telling the others."

"What...do you want to know?"

"Do you battle with-"

"No! And I don't ever plan to."

Some tension leaves my shoulders. "Okay then. Next question. Do you ever plan on releasing her?"

"If that is what she wants, I will give her the poke ball so that she can do what she wants with it."

The tension leaves my shoulders completely. "Last question then. Will you travel with us?"

Tourmaline blinks at me, taken completely off guard. "What?"

"Will you travel with us? It will probably be easier for you to get around the region without sticking out so much if you are in a group of trainers taking on the Gyms. Not to mention the fact that it would be less stressful for you if occasionally, you could talk to someone you trusted about it."

"And you're saying I can trust you." Her face is closed and suspicious.

I look at her and make a decision. I release Dawn from her poke ball. "Dawn? Can you make sure that there is no one around and that if someone comes, they can't hear us?"

_**Sure!**_ Always happy to help out, Dawn settles down and concentrates.

I look at Tourmaline again. "Would it be easier for you to trust me if I told you a secret that only those I consider family and Tim know?"

"May I ask why Tim knows this secret?" She refused to drop her guard, her hand shielding the pocket where she had placed Mew.

I give a small smile. "Because he was there when I received Jolt's Egg."

"That doesn't make any sense."

My hands are shaking as I prepare to do what my family had decided was a bad idea. Before I continued, I had to have some insurance. "Will you promise not to tell anyone? A secret for a secret, I guess is what I am going for."

"If you threaten her, I will not hesitate to use anything I know about you, against you."

"Fair enough." I rush on to the explanation. "I can talk to Eevees. Not just Espeons, but Umbreons, Jolteons, Flareons and all the others. When I received Avon...Suddenly I could hear them all! It's only Eevees and their evolutions that I can hear. Ask her." I gesture to Tourmaline's pocket. "She started talking to me while I was talking to Avon."

"Alright. I believe you. Can I meet your Pokémon?" Her whole stance relaxes.

I slap myself in the face. "I completely forgot that you hadn't met everyone yet. Come on out everyone!" Once I had all of my Eevees in front of me, I did the introductions. "My Eevee is Avon, Shiny Umbreon is Dusklace, Espeon is Dawnlace, and Jolteon is Joltlace. I received all of them as Eggs."

"Right, you mentioned something about Tim being there when you got Jolt?" Tourmaline knelt down and tickled Jolt under the chin, smiling as the small Pokémon began to purr.

"She didn't like the Gym Leader whose doorstep she had been left on. She was screaming really loudly."

Tourmaline winced. "And you probably developed a really bad headache."

"You know, it's nice to be able to talk to someone who has to deal with voices in their head. Tim and Jen don't have any Psychic types, so while Tim knows, he can't really understand." I blink as a memory surfaces suddenly. "Oh. That reminds me. There is this kid with long green hair and a hat that can talk to Pokémon!"

Tourmaline's panicked look spoke more than a thousand words.

"Maybe if she is completely silent when he is around, he won't be able to tell."

T gives a shaky laugh. "I'll try to avoid him, that's for sure."

"Let's head back to camp." I help T stand up."Jolt can you light the way?"

While my others return to their poke balls, Jolt happily runs ahead of us, her sparks bright enough to light our path.

**xXxXx**

We sat around the small fire that Maria had set up, having Tim use Blaze to actually light it.

Jen shared out some of the food that she had gotten at the cafe before we had left town. She had apparently gotten enough to last six people traveling through the forest.

After all the food was finished, we just sat around the fire as it burned down to embers.

_"...storm clouds gather in her eyes...daddy was a mean...blow it down...not enough wind in all Unova..."_

"What was that Jen?" I leaned closer to the girl sitting next to me.

Jen gasped, startled. She looked at me, her face flushed red. "Sorry...Was I singing out loud?"

"Why are you sorry? You're voice is pretty. What were you singing?"

Jen's blush darkened. "It's...just a song I'm writing."

"I thought I heard a bit about wind in Unova? What was that about?" Maria called from across the fire. When everyone looked at her, surprised that she could hear what had so quietly been said, she shrugged. "What? My hearing has gotten fairly sharp from being out in the forest so much. So, spill."

Jen gave a small smile. "It's something I noticed traveling around the region. Sometimes, the wind and the rain can get really vicious." She stared off into space for a few minutes before looking at us again. "It just inspired me, I guess. So I've been working on this song. I've been traveling alone, not counting my Pokémon, for a while now. Maybe I've been alone for a bit too long."

"Every picture, every song has the story of a life behind it." I leaned back to look up at the stars peeking through the leaves of the trees. When I looked back down at the others that surrounded the fire, I found them now staring at me.

Tourmaline was looking me up and down again. "Waaaay too mature for your age, kid."

"Would you have her any other way?" Tim smiled, flicking a fallen leaf into the embers.

"Where did that come from, girl?" Maria asked with Jen nodding in agreement, both curious.

"It's something my mom says. I think she discovered it when she went on her journey. She hasn't told me the story behind it." I say with a smile.

Jen draped an arm over my shoulder and gave me a hug. "You like to know the story behind things, don't you?"

Smiling, I duck my head. "It's a bad habit of mine."

"Okay, I give up." We all look to see Tim flop back onto the ground.

Maria reaches out and nudges her brother with her foot. "What are you giving up on, boy?"

He sighs. "I feel like I remember hearing the story about the storms, but I can't remember any details." His head rolls towards me. "You got anything Sophie?"

"Whoa, wait. If what I've gathered is correct, Sophie has only recently started her journey. What makes you think she knows?" Tourmaline spoke up, stroking Apatite's sleeping head that rested in her lap.

"Because her parents seem to have taught her all sorts of interesting things." Jen piped up. She gives my shoulder a squeeze. "So do you know what Tim is forgetting?"

I giggle. "Yeah I think I do. But it wasn't my parents who taught me about it."

"Oh?"

"Tristan told me the story." I shift into a more comfortable position. "On Route 7 there is a house. A family lives there and the daughter of the older couple will heal traveling Trainers Pokémon so that they can continue their journey. While the Pokémon rest, the old lady that lives there tells the Trainers a story." I look at the others. "She tells them a legend. The legend about the time when storms raged because of Pokémon that were enraged." I give a little laugh. "I don't know all the details, because my brother wasn't paying all that much attention to what the lady said and it had been a few years since he had heard it. But there were at least two Legendary Pokémon involved in the story."

"Legendaries?" Jen interest seemed to grow even more.

"Mmhmm. My brother did remember the names of two of them. Tornadus and Thundurus. Apparently, they brought or caused the storms. Or something."

Tourmaline leaned back. "So you have people like that here too, huh."

"What do you mean?" I turn my focus to her.

"People who pass on the legends. People who heal others Pokémon. I guess every region has them." She shrugs.

"What region are you from? I'm from Johto, by the way." Jen asked.

Tourmaline focused on her, with eyes slightly narrowed. "I'm from Kanto."

Tim sits up and glances between the two. "Have either of you ever had to deal with Team Rocket?" Curiosity gleamed in his eyes.

Tourmaline's jaw clenched when he uttered the Team's name.

"Boys. No tact." Jen hissed, too quiet for Tim to hear.

I stood, yawning widely. "I'm tired. We should get some sleep soon."

**xXxXx**

Unable to sleep as I had suggested, I quietly slipped out of the tent that I had ended up in with Jen. A heavy sleeper, the older girl didn't stir.

With Jolt out to give me some light, I walked a little ways from the clearing. Coming across a ledge, I decided to sit on it to think. I had brought the Egg with me, because it was what was keeping me awake.

"Are you sure it's safe for you to be sitting there?" A soft voice came from behind me.

Clutching the Egg closer, I glance over my shoulder and relax when I see that Tim stood there.

"I thought you said you were tired."

I sigh. "I am. But the Egg..."

Tim carefully sat beside me. "Not being quiet enough for you to sleep?"

I finally allow worry to completely take over my face. "The opposite actually. I haven't heard a single sound out of it."

He gently rests a hand on the Egg. "Maybe it's just sleeping." He frowns and his second hand joins the first on the Egg. "I know that I haven't handled many Eggs, in fact only Jolt's that one time when you let me hold her the other day, but this one seems really warm."

"Oh no!" I start to panic. "What if it's sick? What am I-"

"Or maybe it's just going to be a Fire type." Tim says, trying to say something that will stop the panic.

I freeze and turn towards him. "That's it." Everything clicked into place. "It will probably become a Flareon. And maybe you're right about why it isn't talking to me. Maybe it is just sleeping." Tim yawned. "Go on, go back and get some sleep. Once the adrenaline has left my system, I'll head back as well."

"Alright." Tim stood up with another yawn. Suddenly a small mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Don't fall off the ledge."

I blush. "That was one time and technically, you were the one who fell. I was pushed."

Softly laughing, Tim patted my head and headed back to camp. With the sound of his laughter filling the air, he did not here the rustles of leaves closer to the camp that signaled someone else returning to it.

_**Momma, Bluey was listening in on yours and Tim's conversation.**_

_Sorry. She is a light sleeper and when she heard the boy exiting his tent, she went to see what was going on._ Mew's silent voice echoed in my head.

_It's fine._ I sent back before I let everything fall into silence.

**XxXxX**

After Sophie had left the ledge and returned to camp, a large shadow, that had hidden itself in the trees near bottom of the ledge, separated and solidified into a discernible form.

Kevin Emerson was thoughtful, considering what he had learned from the conversation he had listened in on.

He had listened in on both the conversation the tiny girl had had with the boy and the one between the girl and the unknown Psychic type. From the girl's tone, she respected the unknown one, though they did not seem to have known each other long.

Kevin walked over to where his silent companion waited. They continued on until they reached a clearing farther away. Clint released Golem, his recently obtained Golurk and his most silent fliers.

Only once they were safely in the air, on their way back to Castelia, did Kevin speak.

"I discovered something new about our little friend. When she is worried, her senses seem to only focus on her Pokémon. I stood practically right next to her feet and neither she, nor her Eevees seemed to notice me. I considered actually talking to her, perhaps chiding her for sitting on a ledge only days after she fell from one, but decided that I would probably learn more if I remained hidden."

"And you did." The low rumble of his friend's voice reached his ears even through the loud wind.

Kevin smiled. "Yes."

Kevin thought back to the first meeting. To how the girl, though seemingly friendly, had hesitated to tell them even her first name. How her eyes had held the faintest hints of suspicion as she thanked them for their help before continuing on her way.

His mind returned to what he had seen on her face as she arrived at the ledge. Worry, uncertainty, panic just waiting to break loose as fears wormed their way into the child's mind. And all for her Pokémon. None for herself. She had not even hesitated before approaching the ledge.

As she had spoken with the boy, the worry she had hidden when he appeared broke loose again, and the panic soon followed. The boy had managed to calm her, to still some of those fears. Perhaps there was some potential in him. He already knew the girl's secret. And the boy was not the only one.

There was that unknown person with the Psychic type. They had listened to the conversation as well, and the girl did not seem worried that they had found out. They most likely already knew. So who were they, and what had they done to gain the girl's trust?

Kevin smiled as he and Clint landed just outside of the City. He turned to his friend, his second in command. "I believe that not only would the girl be helpful to us, but some of those who are around her as well."

Clint stopped Kevin with a hand on his shoulder as Kevin started to enter the city. "You need to..."

"Oh! Right. Thanks, I almost forgot. It would not do any of us any good if I was caught."

He reached up and stroked what appeared to be leather surrounding his neck. It shivered and changed to a pink color before sliding down to cover his shoulders. Small, sleepy eyes blinked up at Kevin.

"Sorry for waking you, but I need to walk through town. Mind helping me out?"

The Ditto gave his shoulders a squeeze before flowing back up and carefully covering his face, changing the man's appearance.

"Alright. Shall we continue on to the house that 'Serendipity' has secured for us?" Kevin's slightly disfigured voice emerged.

Clint nodded, and together they entered the city.

**XxXxX**

**Author's Note: I dedicate this chapter to my Beta Reader! Happy Birthday, MorohtarSingod! This chapter is mainly giving the readers some insight into some of the characters. Please tell me your opinions of them. Just anything that stands out to you. I need to know how the characters are coming across to the readers.**

**MorohtarSingod:**** Hello everyone, I would like to thank Lady of the Shards for letting me be her beta. And to everyone who is reading this for supporting her and her writing.**

**Shards: I have been asked to work on 'Penny in the Air' next, so I am heading over to that section…I will mash those ideas into a readable shape!**

…**I may end up doing another chapter of this though…I am on a roll here people! But I will be attempting to work on my other stories! I promise!**

**Remember, I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	20. Guest Review Replies

**Special! Replies to Guest Reviews!**

**My review mark has passed 75! My views have passed 2000 by over 200! I am a happy, happy person! Plus, I recently got spammed by reviews! I love it when people do that! It is one of my favorite things! But it was done by a guest, so I needed to do this so that I could reply. Don't worry, next update will be an actual chapter.**

**So! Here we go!**

**noname- Chapter One**

**Thank you!**

**noname- Chapter Two**

**I am trying my hardest to not have Sophie be a Mary Sue. If anyone ever sees her heading down that path—LET ME KNOW! It is one of the things that I am most afraid of happening to my characters. Please help me prevent it.**

**noname- Chapter Three**

**You are seriously making my day.**

**noname- Chapter Four**

**Again, thank you.**

**noname- Chapter Five**

**There will be no romance in this story, but if the readers decide that two of the characters would go well together, I will see about including that in the sequel.**

**noname- Chapter Six**

**And a merry late Christmas to you and a Happy Easter to everyone!**

**noname- Chapter Seven**

***blinks* What part made you do that?**

**noname- Chapter Eight**

**I plan on going through some of the more major bits of the game, but not in any major detail. Sophie is not going to be taking over and wiping Plasma out. That is White/Hilda/Touko's job. (I finally realized that the poll had not been showing on my profile and got it fixed. It is now there so please go vote.)**

**noname- Chapter Nine**

**Indeed. Dun dun dun.**

**noname- Chapter Ten**

**It did seem a bit out of the blue, didn't it? But the people who would be traveling with Sophie had been decided from the beginning.**

**noname- Chapter Eleven**

**For multiple reasons, I will be unable to use that name. But it did make me laugh, so thank you.**

**noname- Chapter Twelve**

**Yes. Many sequels! And yes, I use carp instead of crap. It amuses me.**

**noname- Chapter Thirteen**

**Mwahaha! I love what I did with the ending here.**

**noname- Chapter Fourteen**

**She is collecting Gym Badges because battling is helping her understand Pokémon more. She needs to have an extremely great understanding of Pokémon to be a good Breeder. I also may make it a rule that to become a full fledged Breeder, you must have at least eight Gym Badges. I'm not sure yet though. The rules to be a Breeder in this universe will be firmly ironed out in the sequel, which will be called 'Whisper in the Dark'. Don't worry, I am nowhere near done with Evolution yet, just thought I should let that out there.**

**noname- Chapter Fifteen**

**It's because her family is rather awesome. She's only ever actually met a couple of them before she left for her journey, but all the Leaders at least know of her parents and brother. I am dory for confusing you! Tell me what did it and I will try to explain.**

**noname- Chapter Sixteen**

**This review? It made my day twenty times better. Thank you so, so much! *hugs***

**noname- Chapter Seventeen**

'**The Silver Silence', well, I didn't go into too much detail, but all three of those things kind of occur in the prologue. I mainly rated it 'M' to be safe. I think I could lower the rating down to a 'T'. I think.**

**Akuma- Chapter Sixteen and Seventeen**

**Even with the bit of confusion, your two comments have helped me. Thank you for taking the time.**

**noname- Chapter Eighteen**

**That's okay. She has her reasons. And thank you for your input. One vote to White.**

**noname- Chapter Nineteen**

**Mew is very cool. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment one EVERY SINGLE ONE of my chapters. You are awesome.**

**xXxXx**

**Finishing Note: I try to thank everyone who reviews, follows, and/or favorites personally. If I somehow managed to miss you, I am so, so sorry! Every time I get a message telling me that someone has taken the time to read my story, any of my stories, my day gets better. Even if the review is just one word.**

**So thank you all for taking the time to look at my story.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	21. Chapter 16 Pinwheel Forest Exit

**Chapter 16 Pinwheel Forest Exit/ Skyarrow Bridge**

**The voting will be closing! Please help me choose! The name will be announced next chapter! Poll on my bio page!**

**Sophie: Though it may take one more chapter for me to actually learn it.**

**Also, the song that Jen was singing? I did not write it. I simply adapted the song 'Blown Away' by Carrie Underwood. All I did was change the word Oklahoma to Unova.**

**xXxXx**

Loud shouts and the crashing through bushes interrupted us as we ate breakfast.

Maria and her Leavanny jumped up. "You guys stay here! I need to check that out." She said before running off.

Soon after she left, shouts approached us from behind. Before those shouting reached us a small Pokémon came stumbling out of the bushes.

_**Runrunrunrun. I gotta run!**_ The female voice rang through my read before any of us was able to get a clear view of exhausted Pokémon.

I dashed forward and scooped up the Eevee. "We have to go! Now!" I start running not waiting for the others.

_**Don't worry. **_I send the terrified Pokémon I now had in my arms. When she heard my voice she calmed slightly. _**I'm not going to hurt you.**_

I come to a halt and the others catch up to me. The shouts and crashing has gotten louder and angrier behind us. "Oh no."

We have ended up a small clearing. There is a stone resting in the center, but the trees surrounding the clearing are only thin enough to get through in one area.

The area now blocked by Team Plasma grunts.

"Hand over the Pokémon, kid. It's ours." The one who seemed to be in charge of the group came forward and held out his hand demandingly.

I bend slightly over in an attempt to hide the Eevee.

Before I can verbally reply to the Grunt's demands, Jennifer has stepped in front of me, anger in every line of her body.

"Why should she? It is quite obvious that this Pokémon was running from you. Even if you were its Trainer, we wouldn't give it back to you."

I look at the Eevee in my arms. Her ears are drooping with exhaustion from running. _**Are they your trainers?**_

_**No! I was released by my previous trainer for not listening to his orders. I've been living in this forest since.**_

Anger flew threw my veins at the information given. Before I could continue the conversation, a hand appears on my shoulder.

_I have a plan. Just stay back, kay? Use Dawn to let the other two know._ T doesn't take her eyes off of the Grunts as she digs around in her bag.

_Okay._ I give a tiny nod before turning my mental attention to my Eevee. _**Dawn? Tell Jen and Tim that T has a plan.**_

_**Want me to set up a temporary Psychic channel between the four of you?**_

_**Can you handle that much?**_

_**Yup! I'll be fine!**_

_**All right then.**_ I can tell when the channel is up, and notice Jen and Tim start just a bit. T, used to having a Psychic channel open, continues fishing around in her bag.

_So what is this plan?_ Jen sends back.

Instead of answering her, T walks forward until she stands in front of all of us.

She looks over the Grunts. "Six of you, huh?" She tosses a small packet into the air and catches it with her other hand. "Oh well. It's been awhile since I got to play."

"Get out of our way and hand over the damn Pokémon!" One of the Grunts starts forward and tries to push her aside. Before he gets too close he falls over.

"Guess he got lucky." T is tossing five packets in the air, juggling them between her hands. "He got one with Sleep Powder." She gave the remaining grunts and smile. "You see, most of these packets carry Sleep Powder in them. At least one of them has Poison Powder. I got them mixed up, so I'm not really sure which one it is." She watches as a couple of the Grunts roll their eyes. "It's very potent poison. The last person who got the poison packet was unconscious before he was able to take the antidote. And everyone else was asleep, unable to help him. I left before I could find out how it ended. As far as I know, that man is dead." Her smile grows. "Now, I wonder." She catches all five packets and chooses one from the pile. "Is this the poison one?"

She threw the packet at one of the grunts. He flinched back as the packet exploded at his feet. Panic took over his expression before he fell to the ground, completely asleep.

"Nope. Another Sleep Powder. Oh well. Next!" She shrugged and threw the next packet, watching as the next Grunt fell asleep.

The next two packets also contained Sleep powder. Tourmaline twirled the last packet between her fingers as she looked at the last Grunt, the one who seemed to be in charge. "Well, it looks like this must be the poison. But I still need to know for sure." Her smile has long since transformed into a smirk.

As she prepares to throw, the Grunt turns and attempts to run. The packet explodes on his back and he falls to the ground snoring.

"Idiots. Who in their right mind would keep Sleep Powder and Poison Powder in the same color packets?" She snorted and nudged the Grunt closest to her with her foot.

"So you do poison packets." Jen went over to examine another one of the Grunts

"Yeah, but I only use them if I am in extreme danger or I am seriously pissed." She put her hands in her pockets. "Sleep Powder is in the green packets and Poison Powder is in the purple."

"That makes sense." Tim came and led me back towards the stone so that we could look over the Eevee. "Do you have a Super Potion, Sophie?"

"Something better! I have some Fresh Water." As I dig around in my bag, the Rare Candy I had found the other day fell out of my bag.

It fell onto the stone, just in front of the Eevee's nose. After sniffing at it for a moment, the Eevee ate it.

Tim and I jumped back when suddenly the Eevee began to glow. We watched as the light of evolution grew and faded around the still wild Eevee. Once it was completely gone, a still exhausted Leafeon lay on the stone. She tried to stand up, but her legs collapsed under her.

I rushed forward and helped her drink the Fresh Water. "Silly thing. Here, this should help." After she finished, I put the empty bottle back into my bag. I carefully looked her over for any other injuries. "Do you want to come travelling with me? If you stay here, more of those Grunts will probably be sent after you. If nothing else, I can find a safer place for you to live."

She looked up at me. _**Will you give me a new name?**_

_**Only if you want me to.**_

She nudged my hand so that I would pet her. _**I think I would like that.**_

I looked at the others. "I need a poke ball. Dawn helped me talk to her, and she would like to come with me."

Tourmaline narrowed her eyes a bit, but tossed me a Premier Ball. "I got this when I was last in town. That do?"

"Yup!" I smile at her.

I set the poke ball on the stone and the Leafeon nudges it with her nose, allowing herself to be drawn in and caught. I quickly let her out and look her over.

"I think you look like an Ivylace. How does that sound?"

Ivylace yipped in happiness and butted my hand.

A slow clap begins behind us, causing us all to turn.

Another Team Plasma Grunt is standing over the sleeping forms of his comrades. "Congratulations. And thank you for catching the Pokémon for us." He drew a poke ball. "I'll be taking it now. And all of your other Pokémon as well."

Before he can release his Pokémon, I quickly send Jolt out. "Jolt, use Thunder Wave."

"Wha-?" The Grunt suddenly falls over stiff with paralysis.

The others look at me.

I shrug. "What? I was getting irritated."

"Well, looks like you guys took care of this group." Maria appeared from behind some of the trees. "I already called some of the other Rangers. So I'll just tie these guys up and we can be on our way." She glances up from where she is securing the Grunts. "After we take care of the camp that is."

"Sorry." We all call and wait patiently for her to lead us back to clean up and then continue on our way.

**xXxXx**

It was near noon when we had made it to the small pond that resided in the forest. We stopped to rest and watched as some of the other Trainers surfing around on their Pokémon.

As a boy on a Basculin floated by, Jen leaned back. "You know, I have never understood why Trainers have to teach Pokémon how to Surf. Fly and Dig don't make sense either."

"Because most of the time those Pokémon already know how to do those things?" I ask as I gently stroke Ivy's head, listening to her purr and the call of Pidoves.

"Yeah."

"Now that I think about it…" Tim flicked a small pebble into the pond.

"Does it really matter?" T leaned against a tree trunk.

"No. But now I'm curious too." Maria frowned as she tried to figure it out.

"Easy." I said, watching a slowly drifting leaf.

"Easy? I've been trying to figure it out for years and you say it's easy?" Jen looked over at me.

"You aren't teaching them to swim, dig, or fly. You're teaching them how to hold passengers and not get them wet or drop them. To create tunnels big enough and stable enough to walk in." I look around at the faces of the others. "At least, that's what I think."

"You make too much sense kid." Tourmaline frowns. "Kids your age should be all about…I don't know. But you seem determined to throw our perspectives of the world for a loop."

I grin up at her. "Someone has to turn the world upside down."

"And why not you?"

"Nah, I'd prefer it to be someone else."

"Aaand now you're making no sense."

I shrug at her and stand up. "We should be going. It's not too far to the end of the forest right?"

Maria stood up and dusted herself off. "Nope. Just about an hour more of walking and we should be out."

"Let's get going then!"

**xXxXx**

"Sophie! Tim! Come on. It's just a ledge." Maria called up to us as we gazed down from the top of the ledge.

Tim glanced at me before looking down again. "We were fine when we sat on the ledge last night. Why are we having trouble now?" He whispered to me.

"Because last night we were just sitting. Now we are planning to jump." I reply just as quietly.

"You two need help down?" A voice suddenly came from behind us.

Startled I start to topple forward. As I try to get my balance back, Tim grabs one of my arms and another hand catches the other and tugs, causing all of us to fall backwards safely.

I look up at the one who had spoken and then saved me. "Please don't startle me like that Ranger Lumtol."

Maria's mentor gave a shaky laugh. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't think that you were so focused that you didn't hear me come up behind you."

Tim collapsed on the ground as all the adrenaline left him at once. "I really just don't think that either of us can jump down that ledge. Our nerves just can't take it."

"Oof. You two okay?" Maria asked as she heaved herself back up the ledge.

Lumtol helped me stand up before also giving a hand to Tim. "Sorry. I startled them by accident."

"That's it. I am not jumping. I am just…I am not jumping. Ledges and I are not friends!" I dust myself off as I speak, unable to look anyone in the eye.

"See, now you're sounding like a kid." Tourmaline's voice calls out from below the ledge.

"I don't care!"

"Kid? Are you pouting?" Tourmaline asks as Maria nods to her mentor and jumps back down the ledge.

"I am going to—Eep!" What I was going to say gets lost as I am picked up and gently handed down to Maria at the bottom of the ledge.

Lumtol looks at Tim. "I don't think that your sister will be able to catch you…"

"Here, Elegant can carry him down. She's small enough to fly in this forest and it's not that far." A Swablu flew up and grabbed Tim's shoulders.

Before he could protest, he was lifted from the ground and deposited on the ground below the ledge.

I was standing there silent until Tim stood next to me. "Tim could you please tell them that I won't be speaking to them for the rest of the day?"

"What makes you think that I want to talk to them?" Tim said, looking off into the forest instead of the other people surrounding us.

Lumtol landed behind us. "Sorry you two. But hey! You're down now and don't have to worry about the ledge."

"Since when do you have a problem with ledges, Tim?" Maria asked. "You never had one before."

Tim blushed and opened his mouth before quickly closing it. Maria rolled her eyes at her brother's refusal to speak.

Lumtol looked Tim over. "You know…Maria, do you think that your brother…"

"Hmm? Oh." Maria studied her little brother for a minute. "Yeah, I think he would."

Tim glances between them with suspicious eyes for a minute before finally speaking. "All right. I give. What are the two of you planning?"

I'm just planning on giving you an Egg." Lumtol told Tim as he reached into his pouch and brought out a Pokémon Egg.

Tim's eyes grew wide and he held up his hands. "Wait, wouldn't Sophie be better? She's the one who is going to be a Breeder!"

Maria rolled her eyes again as she grabbed her brother's hands and arranged them so that he could properly hold the Egg. "Sophie already has an Egg and she just got a new Pokémon. Anymore and it would be too much."

"Besides. Every trainer should raise at least one Pokémon from an Egg. Let this one be yours." Lumtol said as he settled the Egg into Tim's arms.

"I agree with them Tim." I leaned over and carefully examined the Egg. "That's good. It seems healthy. You have to keep it warm Tim!"

"Well, if I do anything wrong, you have to tell me. Are you talking to everyone again?" He asked as he shifted his hands to a more comfortable grip.

"Nope. I am going to ignore them as much as possible. But I'll talk to you."

As the others laugh at my stubbornness, Tourmaline turns me around with a smirk on her face as she shakes her head and pushes me ahead off her as I pout.

**xXxXx**

"Well, this is where we let the four of you continue on your way. We need to go make sure that all those Grunts we caught are handed over to the police." Lumtol bade us goodbye, resting his hand on Maria's shoulder.

Maria smiled at us. "I wish all of you luck on reaching the goal of your journeys. Come back and visit the forest sometime."

I silently wave goodbye to them as the others give their own farewells.

As we start walking across the bridge, our eyes keep drifting to either to the view of the water or to Tim's new Egg. By the time we made it halfway, we were walking in companionable silence, completely unaware of all the others on the bridge. We did not even notice when Burgh walked past us on his way to Nacrene City.

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter done. Not only that, but it is shorter than the others have been. I'm sorry.**

**I am sad to say that Evolution of a Whisper has decided to be an attention hog. All the plot bunnies I have for my other stories? They've been shoved into the corners of my mind.**

**So until I hit a story block in Evolution of a Whisper, I will be putting the others on Hiatus. I apologize to all looking forward to my other stories.**

**But in the good news, we are entering Castelia City next chapter. This ark is going to take at least three chapters, but it might reach as much as five. The plot bunnies for this ark are massive. You can blame my Beta reader Morohtar Singod. He keeps feeding them. And he feeds them at night which causes them to multiply and evolve!**

***breathes* I'm sorry about everything taking so long. And this is not my best chapter. Please accept my apologies and continue reading!**

**And a note from our friendly Beta:**

**Morohtar Singod: I REGRET NOTHING! They just come to me and I pass them to Shards. Blame the bunnies not me. That's all.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	22. Chapter 17 Castelia City Day 1

**Chapter 17- Castelia City First Day**

**Author's Note: I am leaving the poll open for one more chapter! White, Hilda, or Touko? So far, I have three votes for White. If any do not want that name to be used in the story. (Note that if you voted before I opened the actual poll, I lost those votes. I am sorry. Wait…are they in the reviews? I will go hunting after the chapter.) This is your last chance!**

**Sophie: Is White going to win in a landslide?**

**Key:**

_**Eevee/Sophie speaking**_

**Psychic speaking**

**XxXxX- change of point of view**

**xXxXx- simple line break **

**On to the story!**

**xXxXx**

The sun was setting by the time we reach the other side of the Skyarrow Bridge. All of us were so exhausted by the day we'd had that we were drooping.

We were glad to see the Poke Center as soon as we entered the City. Less than a block from where the bridge ended, it was perfectly placed for the weary Trainers that arrived from the long bridge.

We made our way to the Center, and as they rested our Pokémon, we asked about getting a couple of rooms.

"Oh, there are no rooms in this Poke Center." Nurse Joy said.

"What?" T asked, sure that she had misheard what the nurse had said.

"All Trainers who need a room go to the building just around the corner. There, you can get a free room for a least a week." Nurse Joy told them. "It's a skyscraper, like so many buildings in the city, so it's got plenty of room. You can each probably get your own room! Here, you Pokémon's health is fine now, but you should let them rest for the night."

"Resting is all we plan on doing tonight. Thank you for telling us about the hotel." Tim told her with the rest of us nodding in agreement.

"Um, Nurse? Why don't you house the Trainers here like all the other Poke Centers?" I ask as I refastened my poke balls to my belt.

"There are just so many Trainers that pass through the city daily, that there wouldn't be enough room to have them stay here comfortably."

Understanding, we thanked her again and left to find the hotel. When we went around the side of the Poke Center, we spotted a sign outside of a skyscraper that read 'Trainer Hotel'.

As we entered the tall building, we saw many Trainers in the lobby. Some were checking in, some were checking out. We approached the front desk to check in.

A harried looking secretary stood on the other side of the desk. When she glanced up from the computer, she did a quick head count of our group. "Four? Okay, we have four rooms next to each other open on floor 11. Room numbers on the key cards, have a nice stay!" And with that she turned to the next group of people wanting her attention.

We look at each other as we shuffle into a slightly more out of the way area.

"Well, at least there's an elevator, cause I am not climbing any stairs." T states, glancing around at the mass of people that keep the lobby noisy.

"I agree. If there wasn't an elevator then I would just be sleeping in the lobby." Jen steadied me as I started to sway. "Now, I think we had better get up to our rooms before we all collapse. Sophie? Can you make it to your room, or does one of us need to carry you?"

"I'm fine~~~!" The last syllable is drawn out as my eyelids drop again

**XxXxX**

I couldn't help but smile as the tiny girl fell asleep in Jennifer's arms. The exhaustion that had stained her face despite the way she had tried to hide it faded away as she started to slumber.

"I'll take the kid. Tim has his Egg, so Jen, why don't you get the doors?"

Timothy closed his mouth on his protest when I reminded him of how his hands were already full.

Jennifer carefully passed the kid to me and took the key cards from my hand.

We wormed our way through the crowd to the elevator, managing to get there just as a group was disembarking. Somehow securing the elevator for solely our group, we start up to floor 11.

I look at the kid- no, the child- slumbering quietly in my arms. "She was so tired she forgot she wasn't talking to us."

Jennifer laughed. "You're right."

Timothy leaned against the side of the elevator and sighed. "I suppose that we can just figure out what we're doing tomorrow, tomorrow. I think we're all dead on our feet."

"Agreed." Jennifer said around a yawn. "Who's going to put Sophie to bed?"

"I'll make sure that the kid's comfortable. I'll just need help getting her in her room."

"Let's put her in Room 1107. Tim, you okay with Room 1108?" Jennifer flipped through the key cards and examined the numbers written on them.

"Yeah, that's fine." Timothy blinked sleepily at her.

"T, you okay with Room 1106? I'm fine with either, but 5 is a lucky number for me." She focused her gaze on me.

"Whatever. It'll be nice to not have to go far after I get her to bed." I shrug, not caring what room I had.

"Oh yeah, we need to make sure that Sophie's Xtransceiver is at least charging." Timothy rubbed his eyes to fight sleep off for a little longer.

"Why?"

"Her family- well, her big brother really- is fairly protective. It died at the beginning of her journey and he was frantic when she finally called." A half-smile appeared on Timothy's face. "He's around fifteen years older than her and used to be Champion."

"Sophie doesn't want to follow in his footsteps, though they're both Breeders. Anyway, it's probably best to just make sure that her Xtransceiver is always charged." Jennifer yawns again as she speaks.

The elevator finally reaches our floor, and we find it thankfully empty of other Trainers. We head towards the kid's room first, where Jennifer opens the door and Timothy brings the kid's bag into the simple room.

I place the kid on the bed as Timothy fixes her Xtransceiver into the hotel provided charger. Jennifer roots around in the kid's bag and pulls out a set of pajamas. She then chases Timothy out and helps me change the slumbering girl. Once the kid was changed, Jennifer bid me good night and left to find her own room.

I considered just tucking the kid under the blanket and heading off, but my eyes landed on her belt. Shrugging, I brought it back over to the bed and let the Eevees out. I then carefully withdrew the Egg from its pouch and placed it next to the kid.

The kid automatically curled around it in her sleep. Avon and Dusk cam and curled up next to the kid and the Egg, while Ivy and Jolt curled up on other parts of the bed. Dawn spread out above the kid's head to sleep. Smiling at the sight unconsciously, I left the room after turning out the lights.

I went across the hall to the room where I would be sleeping. Identical to the kid's, all it contained was a bed, a dresser, a chair, and a door to a bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink. There was also a few large pillows, a perch for bird Pokémon, and an aquarium for Pokémon that wanted to remain in water. The bare essentials.

I slip Sky's poke ball out of my pocket and gently place it on the pillow before releasing the rest.

**Saphronia is a good child.** Sky spoke from her poke ball.

**Using her full name? She's just a kid, Sky. Sorry I can't let you out for a bit.** I reply as I began to change.

**So? It is a pretty name.** Sky replies, amusement coloring her voice **and I'm fine in here. It's quite comfy.**

**I guess.** I sit down and watch as my Pokémon explore. **She's said there's a store where we can get your chain fixed. We'll try to find it tomorrow.**

Apatite quickly climbed up onto the bed and went to sleep below Sky's poke ball. Disaster, my Absol swiftly carried my Horsea Azure to the aquarium before curling up in the chair while Elegant the Swablu teased my Minun with the largest pillow. Lightning finally came crying to me to get the pillow.

After settling Lightning on the pillow and Elegant on the perch, I went to sleep myself.

**XxXxX**

Apatite woke with the dawn as always. When he saw that everyone else was sleeping he pouted. Then he noticed the key card to the girl with the Egg's room. His Trainer had held onto it so that it wouldn't get lost before the girl woke up.

Apatite grabbed the card and quietly went across the hall. Hopefully the girl wouldn't mind if he stroked the Egg. It was so smooth and shiny. He could hardly believe that there was another Pokémon growing in it.

As he quietly entered the room, he turned to look for the Egg. What he saw made him freeze. He quickly, but still quietly left the room.

He went back across the hall to get his Trainer. When the door he knocked on finally opened, it was not his Trainer, but the boy that they were now travelling with.

At the point of just needing someone, Apatite tugged the boy over to the girl's room and opened the door.

**XxXxX**

When T's Munchlax had pulled me over to Sophie's room, I had not known what to expect.

It wasn't this, though. Never this.

Lying on her side, curled in a half circle, Sophie was still deep asleep. Lying draped over her legs was Jolt, light sparks jumping from spike to spike as she dreamed. Ivy was curled against her back while Dawn sprawled above her head. Dusk was curled in front of her, rings glowing faintly. Avon was draped across her stomach.

What was most surprising was the sixth Pokémon that was curled nose to nose with Sophie, sleeping soundly in her arms.

Quietly I leave the room to wake T and Jen. Maybe one of them has a camera.

**XxXxX**

A flash wakes me up.

Grumbling slightly, I try to rub my eyes, but something warm is holding my arms down. I sit up and send Eevees tumbling.

"Wha's going on?" My voice is still slurred by sleep.

"Sophie, look at your lap." My foggy mind is not sure who spoke.

I rub my eyes and look down. I rub my eyes again. And again.

"Why are there two Avons?"

My mind slowly waking up, I hear T snort. "Your Egg hatched kiddo. And I am so glad that Jen had that camera."

"Never travel without it!"

"We need to make a ton of copies of those pics." Tim commented. "How many did we take?"

"Fifteen before she woke up." Another flash. "This is just too cute."

The fog of sleep finally clears from my head and I understand what has happened.

I look down at the Eevee in my lap. Avon and Dusk are busy sniffing and examining their first child while Dawn bounces around us. Ivy and Jolt are off to the side, still mostly asleep.

As I start my own examination of the new born, a new voice enters my head.

_**Sleepy…**_ The young, male voice clearly belonged to the one curling up in my lap about to go back to sleep.

_**It seems like all you've been doing is sleeping. I'm glad I finally heard your voice. **_I silently speak to him as I run my hands over his sleek fur. On his left hip is a mark that looks like a small flame. _**You're definitely going to be a Flareon then.**_

Speaking aloud, I decide on his name. "Emberdream. Welcome to the world."

**xXxXx**

"All righty. Now we just have to figure out where that shop is." T kept her hand in her pocket, not wanting to risk the chance of a pick pocket getting Mew.

**I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you the other day. Tourmaline named me Sky.** The Mew in T's pocket spoke to me.

**Sky? Cute. Well, let's go get that chain fixed so she can relax some.** I looked around the street we were on. "I think it's on the next street."

**Please.** Mew's voice faded as we moved farther into the city.

"Where did Tim and Jen go again?" I ask T as we make our way over to the next street.

"Um, I think Tim was gonna go see if the Gym Leader was at the Gym. Apparently the Leader often wanders off looking for inspiration. After he checks on that, he's gonna hunt up the camera shop and get those pictures developed. Jen said she was gonna go look for those Castelicones or something. We're meeting them back at the hotel in the afternoon." T said, scratching the back of her neck. "Disaster, don't' go too far. We don't want any of us to get lost."

The Absol came back to T's side, gently nudging her leg.

"Apatite too tired to walk around today?" I ask, giving Disaster a scratch under the chin.

"He's in shock over his discovery this morning. Unless we wanted a super hyper Munchlax on our hands, it's best that he remains in his poke ball." T had a half smile on her face as she spoke.

I laugh at the image of the happy Pokémon running around.

T sighs. "I need the chain fixed but…"

"You're worried about Sky being seen." I say, laughter fading from my voice.

"She's been talking to you huh? Yeah. I am." Worry flashes quickly before disappearing under her mask again.

"Don't." I continue the rest silently.** Dawn and I already planned on making it seem like she was a ditto instead. That okay?**

…**Actually, could you use a blue Pokémon instead?** T asks.

**Um, hello? I could just transform myself!** Mew interrupted us.

**No. I don't think that would be a good idea. On an island nearby here is rumored to be another legendary.** I mention.

**Really? Which one?** The curiosity in Mew's voice was so eager.

**Victini.** I look up at the sky for a moment.

**Tourmaline, can we go see? I haven't see Victini in such a long time!** Sky pleaded with T.

**I don't know…** T sounded unsure.

**Not many people are allowed to go to the island. You have to have a special pass.** I mentioned helpfully.

**Why do I get the feeling that you have a special pass, kid?** A smile spread across her face for a second.

**Well…Because you are sharp. I got it from my mom. She said that she never got a chance to go though.** I explain.

… In Sky's silence we heard the loudest begging.

**Fine! We'll go after we get the chain fixed and Sophie's collars!** T said, completely exasperated.

**Dawn says she can disguise Sky as a Cryogonal. Will that work?** I say after a quick discussion with my smallest.

**Yeah… That will do fine. Thanks.** T sighs, mentally exhausted by the Psychic conversation.

"Oh. I think that's the store!" I start to run across the street, but T pulled me back.

A man rushes past. "Watch where you're going, you brats!"

"You watch where you're going!" T shouted.

"Pests!" The man shouted back.

"Jerk!" T returned, ignoring the rest of the insults the man hurled our way. "You okay?"

"Yeah, thanks. I am not used to there being so many people around. The town I'm from isn't a small one, but it's certainly not a huge one." The pounding of my heart slowly subsided.

"Shall we cross more carefully?" T said, unable to keep the amusement from her voice.

"Yes please." I look up at her as we swiftly cross the street during a break in the foot traffic. "You seem to know your way about a city."

T's gaze flickered down to me and back up to watching the crowd of people on the street. "I'm from the biggest city in the Kanto region. So I'm used to it, but…"

"Even to someone from another big city, Castelia is overwhelming?" I guessed.

"Yup." Was all T said as we finally entered the shop.

"Welcome to Martin's Jewelers. The best place to get collars for your Pokémon." The man at the counter was a friendly 40-year old. "I'm Martin. How may I help you?"

"She needs a chain fixed and I'm looking for some collars." I stand on my tiptoes to see the top of the counter.

"What collars are you looking for?"

"Flareon, Leafeon and Jolteon. I'd also like to look at the ones you have for Vaporeon and Glaceon."

"Eevees, huh? Well, I sort my collars and ribbons by colors, so you might as well just start in that corner over there."

"Thank you!" I run over to the corner, letting my Eevees out so that they can help me choose.

T watched me start to examine before she turned and handed the broken chain over to the store's owner.

He frowned at the chain, not even glancing at the poke ball attached to it. "This chain is no good. It is much too weak. Give me a second and I will find you a better one."

He handed the poke ball back to T and disappeared into the back room. T wandered over to look at the collars I was examining.

"What kind of collars are you looking for anyway?" T reached over my head and fiddled with a couple of the collars.

A rainbow of colors lined the wall. Collars and ribbons were decorated with varieties of stones and beads.

"I'm looking for ones that will just look good, or that catch my…eye." I reach up and pull a dark red collar from its place on the wall. A beautiful garnet stone was fastened on it. "This one is Ember's."

T looks at it. "Seems just right."

I lay it over my shoulder as I look for the other collars. My eyes glance over the green collars but move on to the ribbons. I spot a satin forest green ribbon with a pale jade bead stung on it. "What do you think of this one, Ivy?" I hold it down for my Leafeon to examine. When I saw her eyes widen, I draped the ribbon over my shoulder with the red collar.

Moving on to the section of yellow collars and ribbons, I search for one for Jolt.

"What about one of these vivid yellow ones?" T points to some of the collars.

"No, they seem too bright. Maybe that one…" I reach out and take a ribbon of its hook. The yellow onyx stone was fastened to the middle of a pale yellow ribbon. "Jolt, what do you think? Do you like this one?"

Jolt looked the ribbon over and tried to snatch it out of my hand.

Laughing, I pull it back and take the other two off my shoulder. "I'll get these three. I do want to look at those blue ones over there."

We start to go over to the blue section, but a white ribbon catches my eye. Stopping I examine the ribbon. Pure white, there are around a dozen tiny sapphires fastened to it in the pattern of a snowflake.

"You'll be getting a Glaceon eventually, right?" T asked, continuing once I nodded. "I think you should go ahead and get that collar then. It would be perfect."

I smile at her and we continue on our way to the blues.

Once we get there, we start looking at the many collars and ribbons. I pulled a deep blue ribbon off the wall and hold it out for T to see.

A grin spreads freely across her face. "Get it. It will be perfect for your Vaporeon."

I look at the rain drop shaped stone attached to the ribbon. It was a blue tourmaline, similar to the one that is on T's wrist band. Smiling, I add it to my pile of collars.

We continue looking, Disaster pointing out a few collars and ribbons that T decides to buy for her own Pokémon.

I notice a couple of ribbons. I pull them off their hooks and turn to ask Martin, who had come up behind us while we looked what kind of Pokémon they were designed for.

He took the two from my hands and examined them. "This one is for an Altaria, it's designed specifically for their long necks, though I suppose it could also work for a Swanna." The ribbon was long and a dusky sky blue. Hanging off of it was a silver charm of a music note. After handing it back to me, he looks over the other ribbon I had pulled off the wall. "This is out of place. It should be over in the legendary section."

T perks up. "The legendary section?"

"I designed these collars and ribbons for legendary Pokémon. Some people buy them because they plan on going out and catching those Pokémon, and others buy them to put on plush toys." He led us over to another section of the store. "This is where it is supposed to go. I designed this one for Mew." He turned to T. "This is a much better chain for you. It will hold up to travel and strain much better than what you were using before. When the two of you are done, come up to the counter to pay for your purchases." He returned to the counter and started fiddling with some ribbon and stone that were there.

We looked at the royal purple ribbon. Dangling from the middle of it was a silver charm in the shape of the Tree of Beginning.

**Pretty…** Sky's voice was filled with awe.

T smiled. "I think I'll get it. It really is pretty."

"Shall we check out then?" I look over the collars I had chosen. "I'm ready to go."

**Can we go to that island now? Huh? Huh?** Sky sounded like she was bouncing around her poke ball.

T goes to the counter, where Martin quickly fastened the poke ball to the new chain.

After we finished paying, we left and went towards the docks. We searched four docks before finding the one that had the ferry to Liberty Island.

**xXxXx**

"So this is Liberty Island." T looked around the small island. "There's not much here besides that lighthouse."

"Well, let's check it out!" I run over to where the doors are. "Which door do we choose? The one which goes up or the one that goes down?"

**The one that goes down! I can sense a presence down below!** Sky's excitement was highly evident when she spoke.

"Down it is!" I open the door and start down the stairs before T gets a chance to properly catch up.

"Will you wait up? You're showing off you childish side again." T called down as she started to run after me.

"So? I've always wanted to see a Victini. They're said to be really cute!" I slow down as I reach the bottom of the stairs and find a closed door. I wait for T to catch up before I open the door and go in.

Inside is a room similar to a child's playroom. T glances around and closes the door before releasing Sky from her poke ball.

Finally getting my first good look at her, I realize that she is in fact a Shiny Mew.

Sky floats forward eagerly. **Victini! it's been so long!**

**Mew?** A new voice enters our heads. From the other side of the bed a new Pokémon pops up.

**I go by Sky now.** Sky flew around her fellow Legendary's head in happiness.

I looked around. "Victini? Are you happy here?"

The Fire and Psychic type Legendary looked at me. **I am not unhappy here but I am rather bored. I am waiting for the right Trainer to come and take me away though. I think the right one will find his or her way here soon.**

T squats down in front of the small Pokémon. "Neither of us is the one huh?"

Victini shook his head.

We left the room soon after, leaving Sky to chat with Victini for a while. We went back up and relaxed in the sun just outside the door that led down to the room. When Sky finished chatting, T went back down to get her.

We left to return to the hotel after that.

**XxXxX**

Tim sighed. He had just gotten back to the hotel after getting the pictures developed and checking with the Gym. It turns out that they had missed Burgh by a day. He had left the city just before they arrived. It would probably be a couple of day before Burgh would be back.

**XxXxX**

The crowd around the shop was huge and loud. It was a complete mystery as to how two people could hear each other in it.

"Artemis, have you discovered anything?" The giant man asked.

"No Raven, but I'm traveling along with some people so I won't stand out much." A girl's voice sounded. She was hidden from the man's view by the crowd. "Tell Waldo and Serendipity to quit worrying so much."

"That's good. And I will. By the way, your Xtransceiver is hidden in one of the potted plants at the Hotel. Try not to forget it this time." The man somehow managed to fade into the crowd.

"If I wanted that thing then I would have taken it with me in the first place, idiot."

**XxXxX**

When all four of us arrived back at the hotel, we met up in my room. I had Emberdream evolve into a Flareon since he had finally awoken and given out the collars to my Eevees.

"So, what's our plan for tomorrow? I mean, since Sophie won't be challenging the Gym." Jen asked as she munched on a Castelicone.

We were all snacking on the cold treats, as she had gotten enough for all of us and our Pokémon, plus some.

"I think I am going to go training. I talked to a few Trainers downstairs and they told me of a few good places." I answered. "I think I'll see what the sewers are like first."

"Hmmm, I think I'll go exploring some more." T said, leaning against the bed's head board. "I want to check out the side of town the Sophie and I didn't wander into today."

"There was a side that we didn't wander into?"

Laughing, Tim settled more comfortably into the chair. "I think I'll head over to the Battle Tower. I want to see if I can make it to the top this time. What about you Jen?"

"Who knows?" She grabbed another cone. "I'll just go window shopping I guess. Probably go and get more of these tasty things."

"We should all try to make it back here by five. And all of us should try not to get lost." T glanced over at me. "Especially you, kiddo."

Huffing, I finish my cone and grab another.

Jen looks over at Tim. "You got those pics developed right?"

"They said it would take till tomorrow to get to them. Apparently they are really backed up on their orders."

"Fine, I'll make sure to pick them up tomorrow then. Maybe I'll look for some frames for them." Jen smiled.

Rolling my eyes, I chase them out of my room. "I want to get up early tomorrow so that we can get plenty of practice in. Good night."

The door was closed in their faces before they could wish me the same.

What? I was embarrassed.

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: This chapter turned into a monster… Do not expect me to be churning out chapters that are this long all the time. This bunny seriously evolved.**

**Remember, this is your last chance to vote for the name. I rechecked the reviews and there is one vote for White; half a vote each to White and Touko; and one vote for Hilda. Those are the ones that I got from the reviews. So the count at the moment is:**

**Hilda: 1**

**Touko: ½**

**White: 5 ½**

**Well. If you don't like these results, go vote! If you want to split your vote, please put it in a review.**

**Sophie: I learn the name next chapter, so this really is your last chance!**

**See you all then!**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	23. Oringinal Character Forms

**Original Character Forms:**

**I have never really asked for original characters. I now have three Trainer OCs and one Eevee OC. So I figured, along with my beta, that it would be a good idea to design a form for OCs. **

**I will try to use OCs that are given to me. None will be used in 'Evolution of a Whisper', but I have several sequels and back stories planned out, so I will try to use them there. I make no guarantee that the OCs will become major characters, but I will try to use them.**

**Let me tell you now that the first OC given to me was by my beta, Morohtar Singod.**

**It really surprises me when I get reviews with characters. It makes me happy that people want their characters used in my stories.**

**Those who have submitted OCs to me, I would like you to resubmit them using this form. That way, I have all the info I need. I will be putting these forms on my profile, so that people don't have to hunt through my stories.**

**If you leave a spot blank, then it means I get to decide that fact for myself.**

**xXxXx**

**Person: I would like you to fill out this form for the trainers that are submitted.**

Name:

Hometown:

Gender:

Age:

Height:

Hair (color/length/preferred style):

Outfit:

Personality:

Goal:

Job (Breeder/Trainer/Clerk/whatever):

Pokémon (type/gender/nickname/personality/interesting fact):

First-

Second-

Third-

Fourth-

Fifth-

Sixth-

History:

**Pokémon: If you are just submitting a Pokémon oc, then please use this form.**

Pokémon:

Gender:

Nickname:

Personality:

History:

Other things:

**You don't have to include all the details, but it means that I will have to use my own judgment on those things. But every bit of information makes it easier for me.**

**The underlined bits MUST be filled out. Otherwise I will send them back to you for more information. As you might have noticed, there is very little NOT underlined. Even if it is just a single sentence, if it is underlined, I have to have something!**

**You can always add more fields for information. These aren't my characters, they are yours! Tell me about them if you want me to use them!**

**Below is an example of the forms filled out. This is the OC given to me by my beta and one of his Pokémon.**

**Person: I would like you to fill out this form for the trainers that are submitted.**

Name: Don Cgoor

Home town: Dewford

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Height: 5' 9"

Hair (color/length/preferred style): dark brown, short, never really messes with it.

Outfit: A dark brown pair of combat boots, black hoodie with the steel logo in the center along with a pair of faded denim jeans

Personality: A tad quite at times normally only specks when he needs to or to reply to something being asked

Goal: To find and capture Registeel, reunite with his friends and travel to Sinnoh to wake Regigigas.

Job (Breeder/Trainer/Clerk/whatever): Trainer/Researcher

Pokémon (type/gender/nickname/personality/interesting fact): mostly steel type

First- Lairon - male - Ulen - defensive - Don had Ulen as his starter and he is slightly over protective of Don as a well for him to pay back all the kindness since he hatched.

Second- Metagross - Nogu - calm - Don met Metagross on top of Mt. Chimney just as Nogu was fusing with another Metang thus forming the Metagross before him

Third- Skarmory - female - Grace - easily pissed off - Grace was being abused by her trainer until the day Don came by and beat the hell out of him. Nogu told him about Grace and Don walked up to grab her ball to release her instead she followed him and listened to only him.

Fourth- Registeel (once He gets him) - Lotyu - calm - After Metagross translated what Regi had said to Don. Regi had said that he would follow those who can beat him using his own type. After the long battle Don was the victor and Registeel kept its promise and followed him.

Fifth- N/A if you want add a STEEL type pokemon

Sixth- N/A Same as 5

History: Don and three of his friends had decided to go and find Regigigas for a dream his grandfather could not complete due to old age.

**Pokémon: If you are just submitting a Pokémon OC, then please use this form.**

Pokémon: Lairon soon to be an Agron after the fight with Registeel

Gender: male

Nickname: Ulen

Personality: Over protective

History: Has been with Don since the day he hatched and is determined to repay all the kindness Don showed to him with his dying breath (aka: forever loyal)

Other things: Ulen tends to over react when something happens to Don to the point where he either needs to be KO'd or Don says the words "Srun jequm Yu'n hyumo!"

**xXxXx**

**Please send any OCs to me via PM. If you do not have an account, then I suppose you could do it via review, but…it would probably be easier for you to create an account to submit one. Then I can message you about any information I might need for the story that is not covered in the form.**

**Now, remember. None will be used in 'EoaW'. I will try to use them in one of my stories. Some I may think belong more in one of my other Pokémon stories. Eventually, I will probably use every OC given to me. Before I use any in a story though, I will contact who ever submitted it to double check that it is okay.**

**Morohtar Singod: Please fill out the form and don't give half finished Characters to us we are having trouble getting the bunnies in line to write the stories and trying to play fill in the blanks isn't gonna help us. Thank you in advance for submitting an OC.**

**xXxXx**

**I am working on the next chapter now, so it will hopefully be done this week. Hopefully.**

**Thank you all for reading!**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters!**


	24. Chapter 18 Castelia Day 2

**Chapter 18: Castelia Day 2**

**Author's Note: The name has been decided! White won by a landslide with 6 ½ votes. Hilda was second with two votes, with Touko coming in last with ½ a vote.**

**I made some mistakes! The sewers don't show up in Castelia until Black/White 2! And it's not called the Battle Tower, but the Battle Company. And it also isn't Liberty Island, it is Liberty Garden. My biggest apologies! Also, the hotel, jewelry store and the first café mentioned in this chapter do not actually exist in the game. But it's a city. I took some liberties.**

**Some quick Guest Review Replies:**

**Guest on ch.19: Noooo! Not a Mary Sue! People! Give me tips on how to keep her from becoming one!**

**noname on ch.20: Ah. That makes sense. I understand now.**

**noname on ch.21: Yay! Reviews!**

**noname on ch.21: Yay! My story is cuter! The reason that all the names end in lace, is cause I think it is pretty. So, no real reason.**

**noname on ch.22: Yes. It is the reason.**

**Nnoname on ch.23: Yay! A Pokémon OC.**

**A quick note about my stories. They will not be overrun with Shiny or Legendary Pokémon. DO NOT SEND ME A WHOLE BUNCH OF SHINIES. In this story, there are only TWO Shinies in 'Evolution of a Whisper'. I have already had a Shiny Eevee sent into me. Shiny Pokémon are RARE people! Okay. Rant done.**

**OC forms are on my bio.**

**Key:**

_**Eevee/Sophie speaking**_

**Psychic speaking**

**XxXxX- change of point of view**

**xXxXx- simple line break **

**On with the story!**

**xXxXx**

The sun was barely over the unseen horizon when I woke up. I quickly got dressed and ready for the day.

As I quietly left my room to go start training, a voice called out.

"So, you're just gonna sneak off before we all woke up."

I glanced across the hall and saw T standing in the doorway of her room.

She had a small smile on her face. "The others are probably still asleep. My Pokémon just decided that I should wake up, and I heard you leaving. I'll make sure that the other two know you already left when they wake up."

"Thanks. I really want to go do some training. I'll see you all later!" I toss over my shoulder as I run over to the elevator.

After I left the hotel, I went over to the café that was across the street and got a quick breakfast for my six Eevees and me. Ivy, still a little nervous about being back with a Trainer, requested that she stay out of her poke ball. Ember, awake but sleepy, also stayed out.

I carried Ember while Ivy stayed close to my feet as we walked around the town, looking for a good place to train. We finally reached the center of the city, finding a square featuring a beautiful fountain. Only a couple other people were there, a dancer and an older man. With all the open space, it was a great place for training.

I chose an area and let Avon out so that he could help Ember train. Allowing the father to train the son, I simply sat and watched, throwing out occasional pointers.

It was about an hour later that another person showed up in the square.

A girl with long wavy brown hair pulled back into a ponytail under a ball cap came and talked to the dancer. After a few minutes, she left again. Putting it out of my mind, I focus back on the training.

Avon was getting tired, so I let Dusk have her turn with their kit. Dawn disguised Dusk's rings while her sister trained the youngest of the group. Dawn chatted with Ivy while they both watched.

Two more dancers entered the square over the next hour. A little while later, the girl returned. The dancers loudly thanked her and gave her an Amulet Coin. Then the three dancers then began to start dancing. The girl watches for a while, before glancing around and spotting me.

She walks over and kneels down to watch Dusk and Ember train. "I've never seen Pokémon like these. And my Pokédex isn't telling me anything. What kind are they?"

Dawn padded over to her and let the girl stroke her fur.

I smiled. "That's Dawnlace. She's an Espeon. Dusklace and Emberdream are Umbreon and Flareon, respectively. Ivylace is a Leafeon. None of them are native to Unova."

"Oh. They're adorable. Training?" She scratched Dawn's chin, eliciting a loud purr from the small Pokémon.

"I plan on challenging the Gym tomorrow. If the Leader is back, that is."

"The Gym Leader returned late last night." The girl looked me over. "I'm planning to challenge him later today, but I wanted to get a bit more training done myself." She chewed her lip for a moment before continuing. "Would you like to train together? Not battle, just…"

"Help each other?" I look her in the face and think for a moment before holding out my hand. "I'm Sophie."

"My name's White." She released three Pokémon. "This is my Dewott, Marina; my Herdier, Lillian; and my Swadloon, Delavi."

"My last Pokémon is an Eevee. His name is Avon."

**xXxXx**

We had trained, until noon before we finally took a break for lunch.

"I still want to do some more training, but I also want to see what the Gym is like. Will you come with me?" White asked as we munched on sweet berries. Lillian was panting happily at her feet.

"I'm definitely curious about how the Gym looks." I pop the last of my berries in my mouth as Ivy finishes hers. "Do you want to go now?"

"Yup!" White jumped up, grabbed my hand and started pulling me along with Lillian and Ivy running to catch up. "Let's go!"

**xXxXx**

We stood in front of the Gym, about to go in , when Burgh, the Gym Leader came out and spotted White.

"Oh! You're the girl that helped against Team Plasma in Pinwheel Forest. I think you could help again. They've taken some girl's Pokémon." He said, barely stopping before quickly going off to try and catch the criminals.

White glanced at me and I smiled. "Go and help. I'll just wait here."

"Um, okay." Was all she said before running to catch up.

I leaned back against the wall of the Gym.

_**Why didn't you go?**_ Ivy looked up at me from where she rested near my feet.

_**I don't want to chase after Team Plasma. They leave me alone and I will leave them alone.**_ I glanced down at her before lokking up and watching the clouds crawl across the sky.

_**Sophie? Did you notice? About White? **_Dusk spoke up from inside her poke ball.

_**What? That she's a completely honest, friendly person who believes strongly in her morals?**_ Avon piped up.

_**And she has a Pokédex.**_ Dusk added.

…_**Carp, she's a Pokédex Kid isn't she?**_ Avon realized what Dusk had been getting at.

_**Wait, what's a Pokédex Kid?**_ Ivy asked, confusion rolling off of her, Jolt, and Ember.

_**It's what my brother calls all the kids who have beaten the Teams of other regions. They all start out in the town where the region's Professor lives and are given a starter and a Pokédex before starting their journey with a couple other people.**_ I explained to my Pokémon that hadn't met my family.

_**And White fits all of those criteria?**_ Ivy processed all that was said quickly.

_**That's what I was thinking. And…**_ I trailed off as thoughts formed in my head.

_**Oh, great. Sophie has an idea.**_ Dusk said, able to convey a sigh through her mental thoughts.

_**What's that supposed to mean Dusk?**_ I raise an eyebrow at the tone.

_**It means that you are up to something.**_ Her tone was flat when she replied.

… There wasn't much to say to that, as ideas were forming rapidly in my head.

_**Ha! No denial!**_ Dawn exclaimed.

_**Well—**_ I start before a person comes barreling down the street.

The man was wearing the outfit of a Team Plasma Grunt. He ran past me and into a building farther down the street. When Burgh and White came chasing after him a few minutes later I pointed them to the right building. Two girls came running up behind them and followed them into the building.

It was a while later when a group of people, some dressed as Plasma Grunts, the others in fancy coats and one in a fancy cloak. They didn't look around to check whether or not anyone was observing them. They simply left.

The two girls came out and disappeared down the street a little bit later. Burgh came out soon after and returned to his Gym. As he passed by me, he thanked me for my help.

After a few minutes, White came out and came over to where I was.

I looked her over. "You look troubled. You ok?"

She sighed. "I'm fine, it's just…"

"Whatever was said is making you think?"

"Yeah." She looked up at the Gym.

I grab her hand and start dragging her away. "We can check the Gym out later. I want to show you something."

**xXxXx**

We got off the boat and saw all the other visitors to Liberty Garden gathered in one place.

Team Plasma Grunts kept the visitors from moving about the small island. The visitors kept the Grunts attention occupied, allowing White and I to sneak around most of them.

When one heard them as they snuck around the decorative bushes, we froze.

"Meow~~!" White called out, somehow convincing the Grunt that they were just a Pokémon.

"Meow?" I asked her in a whisper as we continued on our way.

"It's something I saw in a game. I didn't think it would actually work."

We finally reached the lighthouse doors and I quickly directed her to the door leading downstairs.

There, another Grunt stood guard.

Quietly, I let Dawn out. "Dawn, use Yawn to put him to sleep."

A few minutes later the guard was sleeping peacefully on the floor.

I looked up at White. "I think you should go see what's on the other side of the door. It may help you later on in your journey."

She looked at me for a moment before nodding. "You're going to stay out here and keep a look out?"

"Yup."

"Alright." She squared her shoulders and entered the room.

I sat down to wait behind one of the partitions along the stairs and listened as the sounds of battle drifted from the room.

**You put the characteristics of the person you wanted as a trainer in my head, didn't you?** I sent out, knowing that Victini was listening.

**I knew that you would meet them. I wanted to make sure that they found their way to me. Thank you for bringing them.** The gratitude in Victini's thoughts was completely genuine.

**Her name is White. You do realize that if you go with her, you will be taking on Team Plasma.** I needed to make sure that Victini understood what he was getting into.

**She herself does not yet realize it, but yes, I will. Do you have Psychic abilities?** Victini asked, curiosity lining his voice.

**No. Just observation skills my family taught me to have. By looking at the histories of the Teams that have fallen in the other regions, I think that White will be taking down Plasma. If the pattern holds true.** I explain, remembering how my brother and father would go on about what was or had recently happened in the other regions.

**I need to make sure that she is strong enough.** The tone in Victini's voice changed, as the sounds of battle stopped.

**So you will battle her.** I state.

**Yes.** He replied swiftly.

**Good luck.** I quietly send out as the sounds of battle drift out of the room again.

Five minutes later, the sound of a click softly rises from the room.

A Team Plasma Grunt comes out of the room and spots me. His face pales immediately. Just then, the Grunt that Dawn had put to sleep woke up and glanced around confused. All drowsiness left him quickly, and he stood up. Together the two Grunts ran as if angry Houndooms were after them.

White stood in the doorway, Victini in her arms. "What was up with those guys?"

I blinked a few times. "I think my friends and I met them in Pinwheel Forest the other say. One of my friends MAY have traumatized them a bit."

White gave me a slightly worried look.

"You don't want to know." I said with a smile.

We quickly followed after the Grunts up the stairs and find that police have arrived to take away all of the Grunts.

As the two that had been downstairs were taken away, the one who had battled White yelled, sending terrified glances back towards where White and I were standing. "I'll go quietly, just keep me away from that tiny bitch!"

I look up at White. "I'm not sure which one of us he's talking about."

Another yell sounded. "Keep the bitch that electrified me away!"

I glance over at the Grunt. "Oh. It's the guy who was trying to take my Pokémon the other day."

Professor Juniper came up to us. "And you electrocuted him?"

"I had my Electric-type Pokémon use Thunder Wave. Does that count?" I look up at her.

She shakes her head in amusement and turns to White. "Thanks for your help White. We were able to catch them all thanks to you."

"Sophie did more than me." White protested.

"No I didn't." I stated.

"You put that guard to sleep." She pointed out.

"You meowed." I shot back.

"You what?" Professor Juniper seemed so lost.

"Never mind." We both said at the same time.

"All right. Both of you were helpful. So thank you." A policeman called out to the Professor. "I have to go. Keep up the good work White!"

We watched as the police herded all of the Grunts onto a boat and left.

White looked around the island. "Sophie, do you just want to finish our training here? There's plenty of open space, and not very many people."

"Fine by me. Have you decided on a nickname for Victini yet?" I asked as we walked a little ways away from the lighthouse.

"Hmmmm… I'm thinking… Martiro." White nodded as she made her decision. Victini looked ecstatic at his new name.

I blinked. "Did you just come up with that on the spot?"

"Yeah." White shrugged.

"Impressive." I let Emberdream out so that he and Victini- Martiro- could train together.

"Thanks." White set Martiro down and we watched as the two Fire-types trained.

**xXxXx**

White looked up at the entrance of the Gym. "Here I go."

"Good luck!" I reach up and pat her on the shoulder in encouragement.

She grabbed my hand. "You sure you don't want to come with me? You could challenge him right after me!" The nervousness was clear in her voice.

"You'll be fine!" I start pushing her towards the door.

"But…"

"White, I'll just distract you. Besides, you have your Pokémon with you. You have no reason to be nervous at all." I smile in an attempt to help her calm her nerves. "You haven't needed an audience to win before, have you?"

She clutched her bag that held her Pokémon tightly. "You're right. Thanks Sophie." She gave me a hug and ran into the Gym.

I rested against the wall of the Gym again.

Ivy appeared out of her poke ball. _**You are not going to watch?**_

_**No. I told the others that I would spend the day training. They will probably get upset if I went to the Gym without them.**_ I slide down the wall and sit with my chin resting on my knees.

Ivy sits down and curls into a ball. _**You just don't feel like going in there right now do you?**_

_**You've known me for what? Three days? How can you see through me already?**_ Irritation flashes over my face for a moment.

_**Cause you're a kid.**_ Ivy yawns.

_**What's that supposed to mean?**_ I look down at her and see her chest rising and falling peacefully._** And she's already asleep.**_

**xXxXx**

"Oh, this is just gross. Lillian, don't lick that!"

I look up and see White coming out of the Gym. My eyes widen. "What happened?"

She looked at me, slight annoyance showing in her eyes. "You have to walk through walls of HONEY to get through the Gym. HONEY! Lillian! I said not to lick the honey! You don't know how many people have walked through those walls!"

She looked like someone had poured buckets of honey on her and then attempted to remove it without success. Giggles escape despite my attempts to keep them in.

Her annoyance grows for a moment before the giggles escape her as well. Soon we are both laughing uncontrollably, causing passer-by to give us strange looks.

"Maybe you should have Marina try and wash some of that off?" I say once my giggle fit had subsided some.

White freezes for a moment, then quickly pulls out her Dewott's poke ball. "Marina! Can you—Kyaa!"

White stood there dripping from the powerful Water Gun Marina had tried to clean her with. Laughter erupted from me as I looked at White's shocked expression. Soon enough, we were both in fits of laughter again.

We were only able to stop when her Xtransceiver rang.

"Hi Bianca. The gate leading to Route 4? Yeah, um, I'll see you there." White hung up and looked at me.

"Your friend that is traveling with you?" I ask, looking up at her from the ground.

"Kind of. We both started our journey at the same time as our other childhood friend. She wants to battle me at the gate to Route 4." White replied, looking back at the communication device.

"Ah. Then you should go. I need to go and meet up with my friends as well." I stood up and dusted myself off. "It was fun meeting and training with you White!" I hold out my hand for her to shake.

"Yeah! Oh, can we exchange Xtransceiver numbers? That way we can talk again!" She asked, shaking my hand and clutching the device.

"Sure." I got mine out and we swapped numbers.

"I hope that we can meet up again!" White said as she ran off to go meet with her friend.

"Well, let's head back to the hotel then." I turn and start off down the street.

**xXxXx**

_**We're lost aren't we?**_ Ivylace spoke from where she padded beside me.

_**Nooooo…**_I drew out the word.

_**Maybe we should call one of the others.**_ Dawn piped up.

…_**I don't have any of their numbers.**_ I admitted.

… The resulting silence from my Eevees was loud.

_**I'll just find the police station or something.**_ I muttered along our link.

…_**I don't think we stumbled across this street yesterday.**_ Avon mentioned, coming out of his poke ball to walk.

_**Not. Helping.**_ I gritted my teeth as I responded.

I sigh as I look around the street-which was more like a long alleyway- in hopes of figuring out which way to go.

I notice a couple of people coming out of what seemed to be a small café.

_**Momma, is that the guy who caught you when you fell off the ledge?**_ Avon spoke, noticing the two people at the same time as me.

_**Yeah, I think it is Clint. It's kind of hard to forget someone so tall.**_

_**Think that other person is that Kevin guy?**_ Avon crept forward, trying to get a closer look.

_**If it is, he looks different.**_ The other person seemed odd somehow.

_**Let's see if we can get closer!**_ Suddenly, Avon dashed forward quickly and quietly.

_**Avon, be careful!**_ I warned, slowly following him.

_**I know, I know!**_ He said as he hunkered down.

We hid out of their line of sight behind a trashcan, close enough to hear them.

"Kevin, have we heard anything more from 'Artemis'?"

_**So it is Kevin. How does he look like that?**_ Avon carefully stuck his head out from where we were hiding.

…I remained silent.

"No. 'Serendipity' is out today, seeing if she can find 'Artemis', who seems to still be in town today." The voice that came from the other man was distorted.

"I see." Clint's low voice carried clearly across the quiet street. "Well, we should head back to the house."

Kevin sighed. "I really dislike being cooped up in the house all the time."

The two of them disappeared down the street. I sat back on my heels, relieved that they hadn't seen us, though I still didn't know why the two of them made me suspicious and uneasy.

"Little girl, how would you like to have the TM Flash?" A man's voice came from behind me, causing me to jump.

I look up and see a man wearing sunglasses. While logic said that he was a suspicious character, my instincts were saying that he was alright. Confused by the mixed signals I was receiving, I allowed Avon and Ivy to get between him and me.

"Um, sir? If you were just trying to give me a TM, then you might want to figure out a different way to do it. That was kind of creepy." I said nervously.

"Was it? That might explain why most kids ran when I offered it to them." He gives a sad smile. "I was given a lot of these TMs as a gift a while back, and I really only need one. So I thought I would give them to trainers that were just starting out. Would you like one?"

I shook my head. "My brother already gave me his." I bite my lip for a moment before deciding that it would be safe. "Um, I wonder if you could point me in the direction of the police station? It's getting late and I'm a bit lost."

_**A bit?**_ Ivy asked.

_**Quiet you.**_

The man smiled a slightly happier smile. "Of course. In fact, I'll lead you there, since it really is easy to get lost here." He looked up and down the street. "Let's go this way. There's a closer station the other way, but between here and there is the hangout of a couple of fairly dangerous and creepy hoodlums. It's usually safer to go the other way."

"Alright. Please lead the way." As I spoke, Ivy and Avon drew closer to me.

**xXxXx**

The man held the door to the police station open for us. Once we were inside, we waited for a police officer to help us.

I noticed a few posters on the wall and went to examine them.

"At large: Waldo. White hair, gray eyes. Stands at six feet. If spotted please inform the police immediately." The first poster featured a picture of Kevin, the man who had stopped Tim's fall from the ledge on Route 2.

I looked at the next poster. "At large: Raven. Dirty blond hair, brown eyes. Stands at six foot four inches. If spotted please inform the police immediately." There was no picture on this poster, but I was sure it was Clint.

The next two posters also had no pictures. "At large: Serendipity. Red hair, grey eyes. Stands at five foot four inches. If spotted please inform the police immediately. At large: Artemis. No reliable information is available. If information is discovered, please inform the police immediately."

A police officer came over. "May I help you little girl?"

I look up at her. "Two things. One: I think I spotted 'Raven' and 'Waldo' earlier at the café on the alleyway. Two: I'm lost and need to get back to the Trainer's hotel."

"Are you sure you saw these two?" The police officer became serious immediately.

"Sure that I saw Raven." I glance at the posters again. "Why are they wanted?"

"Waldo and Raven have connections to Team Rocket. Serendipity and Artemis have connections to Raven and Waldo. As far as we can tell, Waldo and Raven are no longer affiliated with the Rockets, but they are still criminals. If you could wait here for a minute, I must inform my superiors about this sighting." She quickly went off to report.

As I waited, I examined the posters some more. I remembered the conversation I had overheard.

The officer returned with another person in tow. The man looked at me and frowned. "Are you sure this kid has reliable information?"

My anger flares. "Look, I might be a kid, but I am sure of what I saw."

"But you didn't know that those two were criminals." He stated.

"No."

"Where did you see them again?" He asked, getting a notepad out for notes.

"Coming out of the café on the street that seems more like a long alleyway."

"So they aren't there now?"

"No. but I heard them mention the names Serendipity and Artemis."

"Do you remember anything more specific?"

"It sounded like all four were in Castelia today."

"Officer, if you would please gather the officers available so that I may inform them?" He turned and looked at the officer.

"Of course Inspector, but this child is—" She began but was interrupted.

"Sophie!" Tim called out when he spotted me from the doorway.

"Tim, what—why are you laughing?" I frowned at how he nearly doubled over with laughter.

"Because you really did get lost!" he managed to say once he had finally calmed a bit.

I crossed my arms and muttered angrily to myself as he started to laugh again.

The officer placed a hand on my shoulder. "Is this a friend?"

I looked up at her. "He is someone I know. At the moment, I am not sure about considering him a friend." I smile a bit. "He will be able to help me find the hotel. Thank you for your help."

"No, thank you." She said as she and the inspector quickly went back to work.

Tim managed to gain control again and noticed how all the officers seemed in a hurry. "What's going on?"

"I spotted these two when I was lost earlier. I told them where, and I guess they are going to go see if they can find them." I said as I pointed the posters out to Tim

He frowned. "Aren't they the guys who caught us when we fell off that ledge? The ones that you felt nervous about?"

"Yup."

He fell silent for a while. "Let's get back to the hotel. T and Jen will meet us there after they check the police stations in other parts of the city."

**xXxXx**

"Hand over your Xtransceiver. I am going to make sure that you have my number in case you get lost again. Jen, Tim, what are yours? I'll program them in as well." T said as she fiddled with my communication device.

"It won't do any good to put mine in. I don't have it with me." Jen said with a bright smile.

"Here, what's Sophie's? I think it would be a good idea to have it as well." Tim exchanged the information with T.

"Jen, why do you not have yours?" T asked, looking like a bad headache was forming.

"I forgot it." Jen said with a shrug and a yawn. "We should all get some sleep. Sophie is gonna challenge the Gym leader tomorrow, right?"

"Yes. I trained really hard today!"

"Before you got lost." Tim mentioned.

I grabbed a pillow from the bed of T's room where we had gathered and threw it at him.

"Oi, no pillow fights. If you two are gonna act like such kids then you should go to bed." T complained.

I hop off the bed and run over towards the door. "I should probably call Tristan before I go to sleep. Night guys."

Hearing the three of them bid me good night; I closed the door and went over to my room where I released my Eevees.

Ember sleepily crawled onto the bed and curled up. The others found places to sleep as I changed and got into bed.

I gently stroked Ember's fur. "Tomorrow is your first battle. Let's get some rest."

**xXxXx**

**Author's Note: I told someone that I would have this out last week. I AM SO SORRY! My plot bunnies were not cooperating. But it ended up being a really long chapter, so I hope that makes up for it some. I am not really all that happy with this chapter though. The next chapter is the third gym battle. It may take me a while to write it, because the bunnies are not really that interested in it. So I have no ideas for the gym battle really.**

**I am not a writer! I am a puppet controlled by fictional characters! (and stubborn bunnies)**


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